Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

My husband's birthday was almost two weeks ago and I can't stop thinking about his cake. I meant to share this with you earlier, but with Thanksgiving following right after, I had other posts in mind. Without further ado, meet the best chocolate cake you'll ever have in your life.

Seriously. It was that good. I've had the recipe for this cake dog-earred from an old issue of Cuisine at home. I have so many recipes stashed that I forgot about or that I'm waiting for the right time to use and when I asked my husband what kind of cake he wanted, he just said, "chocolate." I knew this was the one!

What's amazing to me is that you don't need to use a mixer, don't need any eggs, and can make the whole cake (minus the frosting) with one bowl and one spoon. Less to clean up makes me very happy.

I'm sad that I don't have any pin-worthy photos (I was barely able to snap a picture as it was), but rest assured, this is pin-worthy! So moist, soft, fluffy, and FULL of chocolate. If you're a chocolate lover or know others who are, make this cake. You'll be so happy you did! 

And if you need even more reason to believe this cake was good, take a look at this face.

Yep, just like Mommy and Daddy- a chocoholic! 

Source: Cuisine at home

Servings: 10-12

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups hot water

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp distilled white vinegar

1 tbsp instant coffee granules

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 8 inch round cake pans with cooking spray. 

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee, and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until combined (a few lumps are okay). 

Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes completely on a rack.

For the frosting

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp instant coffee granules 

2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in sugar, cocoa, and salt. The mixture will be thick and grainy. Combine the heavy cream, sour cream, and instant coffee a measuring cup until smooth. Gradually (this is VERY important, do it slowly), add the mixture to the chocolate until blended. Cook until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth, 6-8 minutes. Do not boil!

Take the saucepan off the heat and add the vanilla. Cool the icing completely, at room temperature, until spreadable and thick, about 2-3 hours. If you want to speed up the process, you can put it in the fridge after it has cooled a little, and warm it up in the microwave for 20 second intervals, so it becomes spreadable. 

Banana Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

Every now and then I get in the mood to bake a cake. Slathered in frosting, layer by layer, covered in sprinkles. Instead of making a huge cake that would taunt me and wink at me from across the room, I made a smaller, "healthier" version of a cake by using bananas and my 8 x 8 pan. But I didn't skip out on the frosting.

It is brown butter frosting, after all. The magic of brown butter. I love watching the butter melt and allowing it to become a warm amber color. It's so easy to make and once it's done you'll be surprised at how moist this cake is. It holds up well too, hanging out in an air tight container for more than a week.

Source: Lauren's Latest
Servings: 12


Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup plain applesauce, unsweetened (I used yogurt)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large bananas, mashed

Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray an 8×8 square dish with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, excluding the sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a different bowl, whip sugar, oil and applesauce together. Stir in eggs, vanilla and mashed banana. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Pour into prepared dish and bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool completely.

To make the frosting, place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Just after the butter melts, start swirling the pan in small circles. After about 30 seconds or so, the butter should start foaming and will turn an amber color and smell nutty. Once this happens, remove from heat immediately and pour into a different container. Cool to room temperature.

Once butter has cooled, whip together with vanilla, powdered sugar and cream until smooth and creamy. Spread over cooled cake and top with chopped walnuts, if desired. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake- It's My Birthday!

Happy Birthday to meeee, Happy Birthday to meee...Yesterday was my birthday, yeah! The fam is here from Miami visiting, so bear with me on the lack of posts this week. I'll try my best to share with you some of the sweet treats I've made for them, starting with my special chocolate birthday cake, that my Dad and I made together.

I didn't have enough sour cream (kind of ridiculous, I know, seeing as it is called a sour cream cake) but we were tired from our long drive home from Chicago and didn't want to go back out to buy one. And I had to have a birthday cake! So we improvised.

We used yogurt.

It was amazing. One of the best I've ever made (with help, thanks Dad!). Super moist, perfect amount of chocolate-ness, I'll make it again and again. And maybe not with a full cup of sour cream. I wonder if that was because of the yogurt?

I'm not including the recipe I used for the frosting because it was...meh. It tasted great, but the consistency was way off, runny and super thin. Still on the search for the perfect frosting!

Source: Daisy Brand.com

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 (1-oz) squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 cup sour cream (I used 1/2 cup sour cream & 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt)

Heat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, beat vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla for 1 minute at medium speed; add sugars and beat 1 minute; add melted chocolate and beat 1 minute.

In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, then add to chocolate mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and mix well. Pour into two greased and floured 8-inch round pans and bake 30-35 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans to cool completely before frosting.

Just wait until you see the other cooking tools I got for my birthday... :)

Dark Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I've never made a coffee cake before.

When I scanned the ingredient list for this recipe I was confused. Where was the coffee! I didn't know that coffee cakes don't actually have coffee in them. Did you know this? I've learned so much from having this blog (like the time I discovered a substitute for buttermilk).

So, I did what any human being would do when they are perplexed by something. I googled.

Coffee cakes are usually served at breakfast. With coffee. Yayyy we're all learning now.

Unless you already knew this. And I've just been living under a rock. A cooking rock. 

So yes. This cake is scrumptious. The hubby ate a piece in two bites and declared it the best breakfast ever. I wouldn't go that far, but it is really, really good.

Source: Two Peas & Their Pod

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)

Cinnamon Sugar Topping/Filling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set dry ingredients aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beat until smooth. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. In a small bowl, make the cinnamon sugar topping/filling. Stir together sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour half the batter into the prepared cake pan and sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar and half the chocolate chips. Spoon the remaining batter over the filling, spreading gently. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar and chocolate chips.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature and serve.

I've got my first sunburn of the season, from my day at the water park yesterday. I forgot how much they hurt! What kind of summer activities have you been doing?

I'd Like to Make...

It's been awhile since I've done one of these posts. Even with all the food I ate yesterday, I am craving all sorts of new things.

Mini Kisses Coconut Macaroon Bars

 These remind me of the Samoa bars I made nearly every week last summer. With summer around the corner (hopefully), these bars would be a perfect thing to try.

Mushroom Risotto

Oh, yes. I love me some risotto. I've only made lemon risotto, I really want to try this one out!

Glazed Lemon Cookies

Have I told you that I've started drinking tea?? It's a new discovery. These cookies would be perfect with a cup!

Tiramisu French Toast

Okay seriously, when have you ever seen a creation like this! Insane, I tell you, but brilliant.

Incredible Chocolate Cake

I adore the pink frosting, but this cake looks divine! I've got a birthday coming up...

Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Another treat I want to make in the summer. I think it would be perfect at a barbecue. 

I realize there is a lack of dinner/actual food/substance material. But what can I say, I am a sucker for sweets. My dentist hates me. What have you bookmarked lately? 

A Classic Pound Cake

I have a thing for classics. For elegance, simplicity, for things done just so. The perfect pair of nude heels, a chocolaty brownie, dark pair of blue jeans, a white wedding dress, tear drop pearl earrings, The Father of the Bride, a white house with a picket fence...

This is pound cake in its simplest form. There's nothing special going on here- but you could make it special. The possibilities to dress this up are endless. I had it with sliced strawberries one day. A drizzle of honey the next. Cool whipped cream. It has the perfect amount of sweetness, making it a treat for any time of the day. Have it for breakfast. Pack it for lunch as a light dessert (at least, it's lighter than many other pound cake recipes out there, 3 eggs people!).

I'm in love with this white cake stand. Another classic, wouldn't you say?

Source: Sweets By Sillianah

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup whole milk


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter & flour 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan.

Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend.  Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until blended well.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.  Beat in vanilla.  Beat in half of flour mixture, then milk, then remaining flour mixture.  Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes.  Cool cake in pan 10 minutes.  Cut around pan sides to loosen cake.  Turn cake out onto rack.  Turn right side up and cool completely.


What are some things that you find timeless?

I'd Like to Make...

...Roast Chicken Dinner with Roasted Garlic Gravy

Rachael Ray has a new cooking show. I watched the first episode last week on the Cooking Channel, Food Network's sister channel. It's called Rachael Ray's Week in a Day and she makes five meals that you can prepare for an entire week. This Roasted Chicken dinner looks divine.

...Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

I need to think up an excuse to make this...

...Whole Wheat S'More Cookies

..and these. Except, with cookies, I can make them for the hubbs and I with no problem. We can finish off cookies easy. :)

...Simple Whipped Sweet Potatoes

I LOVE the blog How Sweet It Is. Chocolate and bacon are her two favorite ingredients! This whipped sweet potato dish popped up on her blog this week. I'm curious to see if I will like them better over the sweet potato dish I made last Thanksgiving.

...Peanut Butter-Banana-Apple Bites

This can easily become the perfect snack to come home to.

What have you bookmarked lately?

Tres Leches Cake

One last shindig before medical school starts again for my husband, our friends decided to host a Mexican themed informal dinner. Pulled pork tacos, home-made guacamole, and corn salad were on the menu. I searched through my list of bookmarked dessert recipes and found the perfect cake for a Mexican inspired spread- Tres Leches! Hubby and I gathered together all the ingredients and got to work.

Once the cake comes out of the oven, you have to let it cool for awhile. Then you can add the glaze over the cake and set it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you will find all the milk has been absorbed, producing a very moist, delicious cake! We will definitely be making this again.

Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Tres Leches Cake
recipe from Alton Brown

Cake:
Cooking spray to grease cake pans
6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half

Topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 lb strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour a 10-inch metal springform pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Do not remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup. Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

For the topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, chop up the strawberries and place in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Toss to combine and set aside until ready to serve.

To serve:
Place the cake on a serving platter. Carefully remove the ring from the springform pan. Slice the cake to serve and garnish with a spoonful of strawberries.