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He ain’t pretty…but he’s my cake

ugly cake...but so tasty

In our family we start our birthday celebrations with the delightful Dexter in December and we run through them, one a month, with the exception of February, until we reach the end with the awesome Alex in April. Dexter always want’s a pecan pie and it never, ever is as good as the one I baked at thanksgiving. Dave too get’s pie…this year it was a blueberry galette, all tangy with blue fruit and crisp with buttery, sugary pastry.

My birthday in March is usually when the cake craving starts. This year Dexter suggested an ice cream cake from Culver’s. It was our hope that it would be similar to a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake in that it would include actual sheetcake sandwiching layers of ice cream and frosted with ice cream. But alas…it was a cruel hoax and was merely a block of ice cream drizzled with toppings. Totally not what I wanted. The next attempt at acquiring a cake was from Whole Foods were I purchased a lovely chocolate raspberry cake. It was a good cake but the frosting was overpowering; stiff and overly sweet with not enough chocolate flavor. This past week we celebrated Alex’s birthday and he too wanted pie, apple is his favorite. But I made a scheduling mistake and ended up not making the dough a day ahead of time like I should have, plus I measured wrong and used too much butter. It was a good pie but the crust was too buttery and it wouldn’t crisp up. That brings us to Sunday morning.

My cake craving had yet to be satisfied and I’d been daydreaming about a cake I used to make when I was a child; a chocolate cake known as the crazy cake. It involved cocoa, vinegar and baking soda and that’s about all I remembered…but who needs a memory when there’s google? I turned up several different versions and finally found one to settle on. Most recipes for this cake are similar…flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and water and always feature the instruction to mix the cake in the baking pan. This cake was popular during the WWII rationing because it requires no milk, butter, or eggs. Beyond that it’s a dead easy cake to make and it’s light, moist, tender and packed with chocolate flavor.

ugly cake...but so tasty

I’m sure there are some cake baking, cooling, and frosting skills that I could acquire if I were willing to put the time in. But I’m not. That’s why every single cake I make is ugly but delicious and this cake is no exception. The frosting is simple too and it’s the perfect topper for an old fashioned cake like this.

Old Fashion Chocolate Cake
Printer-friendly recipe

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350° F. Makes 2 round cake layers

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa, salt, and sugar. Make 3 holes in the flour mixture and add the vegetable oil to one, the vinegar to another, and the vanilla to the last. Pour the water over the top and stir the ingredients together until most of the lumps disappear. Note: I could never get all the lumps out).

Fill two round cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is springy and a tester inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, then frost and serve.

Easy Peasy Chocolate Frosting

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 oz. butter, softened
Powder sugar
Milk (about 1/3 cup)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Add it to a mixing bowl along with the softened butter and whipp it with the whisk attachment. gradually add in sifted powder sugar until it stiffens up and starts to clump. Then add in just enough milk until you have a fluffy, light, spreadable consistency.

April 14, 2009 | Filed Under baking, cakes and tortes, chocolate, food, recipe | 11 Comments 

Equal Pay For Equal Work Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

chocolate crinkle cookies

I know that over the years there has been much talk on the internets regarding the lack of accuracy in Martha Stewart’s recipes. I always figured there was some truth to it but that some portion could be attributed to personal tastes, preferences, and perceptions and it was no biggie. I rarely follow a recipe and so I’ve never had an issue with it. But a few months ago I checked out Martha Stewart’s Cookies book from the library and I loved it, so much that I returned it overdue and had to pay a fine. Last week I bought a copy for myself thinking I would use it as I always do, a reference to guide me.

Typically I choose an item to bake and then I pull 3 or 4 recipes from my bookshelf, the internets, and the library. I compare and contrast the components of each, make adjustments, and add my own something-something that screams Vanessa. I scribble it down in my notebook, bake it up, and move on. However, that’s a time consuming practice fraught with the perils of distraction wherein I lose hours browsing my way through books and the internets on subjects far from my intended topic.

As I’ve been kind of busy lately I just decided to throw caution to the wind and follow the recipe exactly. Wouldn’t you know the damn thing confounded me with two descriptions that just seemed totally inappropriate and I ended up making adjustments and noting them in the margins. Honestly, that will be the last time I ditch my method and follow a recipe blindly. Despite all that I still love Martha, mostly because she’s a kick-ass, alpha female… smart, tough, and talented. But since I reworked the recipe I decided to rename it too…my prerogative.

I love Martha’s technique for rolling the cookies in granulated sugar before rolling them in the powdered sugar. It makes the powdered sugar really cling to the cookies. I don’t understand why except that perhaps it provides more texture? Any ideas out there? The overnight stay in the refrigerator helps make the insides chewy and dense. Beating the eggs, butter, and sugar until fluffy and light gives them that high dome and lightness. This cookie has it all, deep rich chocolate flavor, a chewy middle and crispy outside surfaces, powdered sugar to get all over your face, plus they politely remind us about the wage disparity issue…all good things.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
printer friendly version

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar for rolling
1 cup granulated sugar for rolling

Note: Once the cookie dough is mixed it will need to chill for at least a few hours… I recommend an overnight stay in Chez Refrigerator.

Put the chocolate in a glass bowl and put it in the microwave. Cook for 2 minutes on temperature level 7. Set it aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Using a mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar together until they are well combines. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and mix to combine well. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined.

The dough should be pretty thick and heavy now. Leave it in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator for its overnight stay or at least until really very firm (see note above).

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the dough when it is properly chilled and using either a tablespoon cookie scoop or just a normal tablespoon shovel up heaping tablespoons of dough and then roll them in your hands to create a ball (about ¾ the size of a ping pong ball). Drop it into a bowl of granulated sugar and roll it around to cover it then transfer it to a bowl of powdered sugar and roll it around again. Place it on a parchment or a silpat lined baking sheet, spacing each cookie about 1.5 inches apart. Bake for about 11-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them rest for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

November 20, 2008 | Filed Under baking, chocolate, cookbook, cookie, food, recipe | 22 Comments 

Chocolate amaretto torte…and 5 sordid facts

chocolate amaretto torte

I’m a lucky girl, I bake my birthday cake and when I turn it out onto the rack I discover a heart-shape on the bottom of the cake. Yep, that’s right…it’s my birthday weekend. I’ll actually turn 47 on Monday but in this family we celebrate for a whole weekend. It usually involves a movie, dinner, bookstore, scones…all the delights of our modern world, and all with my 3 favorite people on earth. As an added bonus my best buddy Teresa came for a visit and we yakked and giggled and shopped…it was great.

chocolate amaretto torte

Speaking of great, this torte is fabulous. It reminds me of the See’s dark chocolate, marzipan…my first/second favorite See’s in the world (it’s involved in a mortal deadlock with my other favorite, the scotch mallow). If you love dark chocolate and almonds this cake is for you. It’s moist and dense, and full of flavor. I actually followed the recipe exactly and it really does take only 15 minutes to put it together and worth every single second. Look it up in Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking, From My Home To Yours and give it a try. But ignore the part about whipped cream for a topping…this cake just cries out for a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Leena over at Leena Eats tagged me for the 5 sordid facts meme and since it’s my birthday I will comply…her wish is my command…mostly because she wants to name her first child bacon and I wish my name was bacon. Here goes…

  1. I love the smell of fresh money…literally. When we lived in SF in the 80’s the ATM’s would be filled every Friday with brand new fresh $20s and I’d make a withdrawal and then take a moment to inhale the sweet scent of fresh money…good times!
  2. Brett who??? I live in Wisconsin, but I’ve never watched the Green Bay Packers play football…it’s just not my deal.
  3. Kozy Shack Rice Pudding is fabulous and I love it. When I made my own rice pudding it just sucked.
  4. I love earthworms…not to eat, but to hold in my hand, and for the great work they do in my flower garden.
  5. I absolutely adore the concept of time travel. As a result I’m an avid fan-girl of Dr. Who and I can’t count the number of times that I wished for my very own Tardis.

Cheers my friends…have a good weekend.

March 7, 2008 | Filed Under baking, cakes and tortes, chocolate, food, memes, sweets | 10 Comments 

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