January 27, 2011

• Did I hear someone say today  is National Chocolate Cake Day? Now, whoever made that declaration is surely a chocoholic, don’t you think? Or someone looking for an excuse to celebrate?

  As for me, I think it sounds like a perfectly reasonable reason to celebrate. Although any old day would be a good day for a chocolate cake, actually…

  With that considered and decided, the only thing left was to choose a recipe. And for this occasion, there was no choice–only one chocolate cake would do.

                  

  This is THE chocolate cake, as far as I’m concerned. Why? Because it is THE chocolate cake that I was raised on, it is THE chocolate cake that I raised my children on, and it is THE cake that continues to be my favorite, bar none, hands down, not even any runners up.

  Now, if you’re one of those choco-fanatics who think EVERY chocolate cake is delicious, I take issue with you. I’ve eaten more than a few pieces of chocolate cake in my time, and here is my philosophy: ALL CHOCOLATE CAKES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. Some are great, some are good, some are fair, some ho-hum. I won’t go so far as to say there are some chocolate cakes that are bad…honestly, could there be a BAD chocolate cake? But …. there are definitely levels of goodness in chocolate cakes.

  Is my cake fancy? No. Does it require special ingredients or special utensils or tons of time in the kitchen? Again, a resounding NO! This cake is simple, quick, and I always have the things to make it on my pantry shelf. As far as chocolate cakes go, this one is basic and ordinary…except for one tiny detail: It is UBER DELICIOUS!

  Wait a minute–are you reading this and thinking, “Boy, she likes to brag about her cakes, doesn’t she?” Well, let me protest: I am not bragging on me, in any way, just on this recipe.

  A little background info: My mom really did make this cake all the time when I was growing up. Probably because my two brothers thought “cake” equaled THIS CAKE, and my mother loved to keep those boys happy. When I was setting up housekeeping and collecting her recipes as a young bride, I asked where she got it. Mom told me it came from a dear lady who had become a widow with two small children at a young age. Mrs. F had no way to earn a living except by cleaning houses, and she was very good at it so she was quite busy. Mrs. F was also known as a very good cook, and this cake was her specialty. I still send up a sincere “thank you” to Mrs. F, every time I prepare her cake recipe. I think she is probably staying busy making these cakes up in heaven. After all, even angels would tire of angel food cake eventually…

  A precious memory to me is of a sweet little boy saying, “Mom, would you make that moisty chocolate cake?” Of course, I would, and so, for years, we called it the “moisty chocolate cake.” I still always think of it that way.

               

  Today, another sweet little boy got off the bus and right away, he said, “What’s for dessert?” So, since it is an officially-designated HOLIDAY, after all, we got all the stuff out on the counter and whipped up another moisty chocolate cake.

  All right, now that I’ve raved and carried on enough, here is the recipe. Try it for yourself, and if, for some absurd, insane reason you don’t like it….well, let me just suggest that you make an appointment, right now, with a taste-bud specialist and have yours checked. Because you either don’t have any or yours aren’t working.

  MOISTY CHOCOLATE CAKE

  1/2 cup cocoa

  1 cup hot water

  2 cups flour

  2 1/2 teaspoons soda

  1 teaspoon salt

  2 cups sugar

  1 cup oil

  2 eggs

  1 cup buttermilk

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  Mix cocoa in hot water in large mixing bowl. Blend flour, soda, salt and sugar, and add to cocoa mixture with eggs, and mix well. Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix until well combined. Pour into a greased and floured 13 x 9 baking pan; bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

  ICING

  1/4 cup cocoa

  1 cup sugar

  3 tablespoons cornstarch

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  1 cup hot water

  3 tablespoons butter

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  Mix cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt together in saucepan until well blended. Stir in hot water and cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla; continue stirring until butter melts. Immediately spread over hot cake.

  This glossy, pudding-like frosting MAKES the cake!

  Notes: Betty Crocker told me once that it is perfectly acceptable to use 1 tablespoon of vinegar to which is added enough milk to make one cup to achieve buttermilk. This is a good thing since I rarely have true buttermilk on hand. The improvised buttermilk works fine in this recipe. And I begin the icing about five minutes before the cake is done so that it is ready to spread on pretty soon after the cake comes out of the oven. Let it cool just a few minutes before you cut a piece, but don’t wait too long–eat it warm with a big, cold glass of milk–or a cup of coffee or hot tea–but milk is really best. Enjoy!

  And now, for a preview of coming attractions…

                                     

  • 9:15 pm
  • 4 Comments