Chocolate Pound Cake

1 c. (2 sticks) butter
1/2 c. crisco
3 c. sugar
5 eggs
1 c. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cocoa
3 c. flour

Cream butter, crisco, and sugar.  Add eggs.  Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa.  In a separate bowl combine milk and vanilla.  Add dry mixture to the butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Bake in a greased and floured tube pan or bundt pan at 325 for 1 1/2 hours or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Invert onto a wire rack to cool.  Transfer to a cake stand or platter and dust with powdered sugar or chocolate icing.

This cake recipe is from my mom's handwritten recipe files ... a friend gave it to her in the early '80s.  It was one of the desserts that we prepared for B's wedding fiesta shower.  No, it's not particularly Mexican in any way.  In fact, it screams American.  But it fed a lot of folks!

You know what I hope happens?  In 30 years, I'd like to make this cake for one of my girls' friends, and share how it's been used through the years to celebrate and fellowship!

Would you believe that we all have known each other for longer than we haven't known each other?  That's so special!

Bride to be in the middle!

Pretty fun girls to throw a shower with (or for!)

eat! this! first!

We had four desserts at the potluck: dark chocolate brownies,  no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, chocolate cupcakes with espresso buttercream frosting, and pound cake with chocolate sauce.  My friends must know about my thing for chocolate.

Here is the recipe for the cupcakes.

Easiest Chocolate Cake makes 32 cupcakes

Recipe found in Sarah Magid’s Organic and Chic cookbook and here 

2 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour 2 cups organic cane sugar 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2/3 cup organic canola oil 2 teaspoons organic white distilled vinegar2 cups cold water

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners, set aside

2. In a large bowl, place sifter on top and add dry ingredients. (Or you can sift each ingredient and mix together in the large bowl).

3. In a medium bowl, mix all wet ingredients together.

4. Slowly add wet ingredients to dry, using a whisk to incorporate.

5. Using a ladle or spoon, pour batter into cupcake liners, filling batter 2/3 up in each liner.

6. Bake for 25 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool before frosting.

 

Espresso Whipped Buttercream

Makes 3 1/2 cups

 

2 sticks unsalted organic butter 1 cup organic cane sugar 1 cup organic whole milk 1/4 cup sifted organic all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons strong espresso (either from a shot or from powdered espresso)

 

1. In small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the milk and flour, whisk until there are no lumps, then slowly add remaining 3/4 cup milk. Over medium-high heat, whisk frequently until mixture is thick and bubbling, remove from heat. Keep stirring and let cool to room temperature. (You can cheat by flash chilling in the freezer).

2. In standing mixer, add softened butter and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then add sugar and beat for 3 more minutes until mixture is light and thick.

3. Add cooled milk/flour mixture, and beat for 4-5 minutes until it is thickened and creamy.

4. With mixer on low speed, add espresso, and whip at high speed for 1 minute.

5. Frost cupcakes, or cover with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator up to 3 days. If refrigerated, make sure it comes to almost room temperature then re-beat for fluffy texture.

 

Good news!  This recipe can be adapted to those of us who don't have organic cane sugar laying around - just use regular flour, sugar, and oil.  Either way, the cupcakes and espresso frosting taste like heaven.  This is the second time in a month that I have had the extreme pleasure of eating these delights from Mary's kitchen, and I'm afraid that I will never allow her to bring any other dessert to a potluck.  I won't judge you if you make a batch for me, just to see how they compare to Mary's.  I may have to eat six or seven of yours just so I can give a well-informed statement about the quality of your cupcakes and buttercream frosting.  And then take a few home to see what Mr. rhymeswithsmile thinks of them too.  I'm just saying.  I want to be fair to you.

Chocolate for Rachel

Frances Jones Cocoa Cake 2 c. sugar 1/2 c. shortening 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 2/3 c. cocoa 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. buttermilk (make your own: put 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice in the 1/2 c. measure, then add milk up to the top. Let it sit for a minute or two - the acid sours the milk and it starts to curdle a little bit) 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 c. flour 1 c. hot water Mix sugar, shortening, and salt. Add unbeaten eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Add cocoa and vanilla and stir. Add baking soda to buttermilk*. Add flour alternately with buttermilk mixture to the sugar/shortening mixture. Add hot water and stir. Pour into greased pan (I've used a 9x13pan, a Bundt pan, and 2 8-inch round cake pans. It's your call). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. *Remember elementary school science project volcanoes? If you make your own buttermilk as I suggested above with vinegar in milk, I ... um ... advise you to transfer the 1/2 c. of milk to a larger measuring cup before adding baking soda, or you'll have a mini-Mt. Vesuvius on your counter. Not that this has EVER happened to me. This is my "fall-back-perfect-every-time" chocolate cake recipe. It's moist and fluffy. And delicious. And easy! And chocolatey. It's one of those cakes where you eat a piece and don't feel weighted down by all that you just ate - it's that amazing. I wanted to post it for my friend Rachel, who is living and teaching with her husband in Guatemala, where access to certain ingredients can be tricky sometimes. Aah, jungle living! Viva el 3rd world! If anyone knows of any resources for her ... like, let's say you know a good cookbook that doesn't use many pre-packaged ingredients, or a website she might like to look at, leave it in the comments and she'll see it. This recipe came to me from a mission guesthouse in Ogbomoso, Nigeria, called Frances Jones Memorial House. The cooks there used to turn out the most amazing desserts (well, entire meals, really) and this one was always a favorite. And since today is Nigeria's 49th Independence Day, it's only fitting that this recipe is from there. Happy chocolate, Rachel!

Furious Chocolate Cake

I dreamed last night that someone told me to update my food blog, at which point I got mad at myself for being "that girl" who starts a blog then fizzles out.

Fits in perfectly with the recipe name, "Furious Chocolate Cake." It's actually "Flourless Chocolate Cake" ... but if you look at the word "flourless" quickly like I did, it looks like "furious" ... I guess.

Serves 12-16 (depends on slice size, obviously ... but it's rich so a small slice is plenty. Or, if you're like me, start with a small slice, love it, get another small slice, comment to husband about tastiness of said small slice, share a third small slice with husband, and wash plate before eating another small slice right off out of the pan. )

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. cocoa powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 8-inch round cake pan and dust with cocoa powder.

In top of a double boiler over lightly simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into cake pan.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Cool in pan 10 minutes; turn out and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Alright - this was my Valentine's cake I made for my husband and me. Really, I made it for myself (because yes, I love myself, and yes, I'm crazy about chocolate). I ran into a dilemma though ... I found myself out of both flour and money on that magical day. Luckily, I remembered a Sunday School teacher who was making a (now forgotten) point in a story by saying "Just like you'd never make a chocolate cake without the flour ..." and was corrected by mutterings from a number of participants. Apparently, though not many people know it, flour isn't the staple we assume it to be. Cake with flour? Bah, humbug, I say.

I'd like to now open my blog to my one faithful reader, and invite YOU, dear reader, to challenge me in my bloggership. Give me an ingredient, and I will make something up, try it out, and post it for you. If it turns out that I have more than one reader out there, I'll put all the suggestions in a hat and pick one out. I'll give you a week to suggest ..

Also, I must apologise again for being "that girl" who starts a blog then fizzles out. I have TONS of ideas, my dilemma is that I have no computer because my precious husband is in school and needs it all the time. I'll try to be better about it. Please, don't be furious with me.