Mrs. Kitchen

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kitchentales
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Mrs. Kitchen
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Greeley, CO
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Go Forth And Cook!

Food & Drink > Recipes > Chocolate Cake
 

Chocolate Cake

Sunday is the most important day of the year, Miss Betsy, my second cousin, turns 62. She has been reminding everyone she talks to about this auspicious occasion for the past couple of months, lest anyone forget. This is in hopes of lots of Surprise Birthday Cakes for Betsy. I asked her what her preference is, and she said chocolate cake and cackled with anticipatory pleasure. Every time she talks to me since then, she brings up the chocolate cake.

So I'm baking a chocolate cake tomorrow with chocolate frosting, and if it's the right consistency I'll pipe some of it decoratively so it's special. We went to our high-crime Wal-Mart yesterday and bought some birthday cake candles. I didn't invest in other decorations although there are glitters and gels and spray-ons. We've come a long way from colored frosting in a can.

Here's a recipe from The Joy of Cooking. It's lower in fat than most cakes and uses ingredients I have on hand:

Quick Chocolate Oil Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have all the ingredients at room temperature.
Sift into a mixing bowl:
2 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Mix and add:
2/3 cup oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup skimmed milk

Beat the two mixtures together until you have a smooth batter.

Beat until foamy:
4 egg whites
Add:
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Continue to beat until the whites are stiff but not dry. Continue to beat, adding gradually:
1 3/4 cups sugar
until a meringue-like texture results. Fold the egg white mixture into the other ingredients. Bake in greased pans for 25 to 30 minutes.
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups sugar

I need to find a nice frosting for it, and I'm trying to find one that doesn't call for heavy cream or white corn syrup, because I'd have to go out to buy them. Have you gathered by now that I don't like to go to the store?

Buttercream Chocolate Frosting (Dark Flavor)

Makes 2 cups.
3/4 cup cocoa
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons butter
4 - 5 tablespoons milk or water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the cocoa with the powdered sugar. Cream the butter with 1/2 cup of this in small bowl. Add the rest of the cocoa mixture alternately with the milk, beating to spreading consistency. Blend in the vanilla. For a lighter chocolate flavor you can use as 1/4 to 1/2 cup cocoa.

I'm going to go make this frosting right now in case I don't like it so tomorrow I'll have time to go buy some ingredients for a different recipe.

posted on Jan 28, 2011 7:31 PM ()

Comments:

We are having Phyllis and Renee over for dinner tomorrow night. I may make
this or the hot water chocolate cake.
comment by elderjane on Jan 29, 2011 7:14 AM ()
Mine came out kind of dry, but the fudge-y frosting saved it. But it looked good, and the birthday girl was thrilled with it.
reply by kitchentales on Jan 31, 2011 12:35 PM ()
What kind of oil do you use?
comment by marta on Jan 28, 2011 11:14 PM ()
I used canola oil. I think next time I might try making that crazy cake batter - vinegar, cocoa, oil, no eggs at all - and bake it in layer cake pans, but I've only made it as a sheet cake and am not sure how it would stand up to being frosted.
reply by kitchentales on Jan 31, 2011 12:36 PM ()
I'll have to try these simple recipes! I've added cocoa to my shopping list. Yum!

Wishing Miss Betsy a wonderfully sweet birthday!
comment by marta on Jan 28, 2011 11:14 PM ()
I'll write about her birthday one of these days. I don't buy baking chocolate (unless you want to count that large bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips), just cocoa and use it for all my brownies and whatevers because I figure it might be cheaper and won't go bad due to no fat in it.
reply by kitchentales on Jan 31, 2011 12:39 PM ()
Happy Birthday Miss Betsy.
comment by nittineedles on Jan 28, 2011 8:05 PM ()
She's very excited. We're going shopping at Walmart to use her gift cards from Christmas. It's hard for her to get out and use them on her own. Then back to our house for chicken dinner, the chocolate cake (the most important, we might put it on the table with the main course so as to keep the priorities straight), and later bowling on the Wii and she'll probably take a nap.
reply by kitchentales on Jan 28, 2011 8:14 PM ()
Even though the name puts me off, I too have all the ingredients to make this cake.
comment by nittineedles on Jan 28, 2011 8:05 PM ()
I just made the frosting in the food processor, and it's really good. I know what you mean about the title of the cake, I'll let you know if it's worth making. I only have one round cake pan and rather than bake it in a sheet and try to make a layer cake out of it, I'm going to bake one layer, take it out of the pan, and bake the other layer.
reply by kitchentales on Jan 28, 2011 8:09 PM ()

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