Sunday, March 30, 2008

Chocolate makes everything better

I think I'll report out my weekend with two recipes. The first is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. And as much as I love chocolate, I've never really cared much for chocolate cake, and I especially have never cared much for chocolate frosting. But this cake has almost made me change my mind. I made it for my roommate Ashley's birthday back in January, and this Friday she had her first master's recital. So on Thursday I got busy in the kitchen and made another chocolate cake for a post-recital celebration with Ashley and her parents. The cake, just like before, got rave reviews (as did Ashley at her recital). This is not for the faint-of-heart, nor for the diet-conscious.

Chocolate Layer Cake

3 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sour cream
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1 recipe Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Frost cooled cake.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
5-6 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool several minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. (This is enough frosting to generously frost a 9-inch three layer cake.)



The second recipe is from tonight. For family home evening, we had a cook-off. We were divided into groups of four or five and sent off to ward members' kitchens to come up with some sort of culinary creation involving ramen noodles, spam, and whatever else we could find in the kitchen (as long as the noodles and spam were the centerpiece of the meal). Our group ended up at our elders quorum president's bachelor pad with a rather limited food stock, but we had fun creating a spam-and-ramen breakfast plate. The judges agreed that that the eggs, hash browns, pancakes, and mock-bacon, sausage, and ham weren't really very good (they were probably right), but our cereal was brilliant, and won Most Marketable. I share it here for all of you, and kudos to any of you who actually try to make it. You may doubt, but I promise you won't be disappointed. It even stays crunchy in milk for a really long time :). But it's probably better as a snack than as a cereal.

Choco-Ramen Peanut Crunch!

1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 package Ramen noodles (minus the seasoning packet of course)

Crumble ramen noodles into a medium-size bowl. Microwave chocolate chips and peanut butter for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave for 1 minute more. Stir until smooth. Pour over ramen noodles and stir until well-coated. Spread chocolate-coated noodles onto a cookie sheet and let cool (you can place it in the freezer to cool more quickly).

6 comments:

Richard said...

That cake sounds amazing. I will have to try it.

On the other hand, that cereal sounds link a close relative of Calvin's favorite: Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. He once described them as "tasty, lip-smacking, crunchy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside, and they don't have a single natural ingredient or essential vitamin to get in the way of that rich, fudgy taste."

Hobbes, on the other hand, claimed that they made his heart skip and tasted like eating a bowl of milk duds.

Abominable's Main Squeeze said...

I think I put on weight just reading your post. Thank you?
I may have to try the ramen one out of pure curiosity! (I can't believe you found an appropriate picture for it!)

Brian said...

That picture is awesome! Did you whip that up? I love the "Part of a balanced breakfast" look to it.

I didn't know you had a blog. I'll have to put a link to it from my blog.

Kelsey said...

Yum...

Grandmother said...

I agree, just reading it makes the mounth water and the weight go on. However I would like to lick the bowl. It is a beautiful piece of art work. I just might try that cereal also. Having fun is great.

Abominable Snowman said...

When do I get a piece? Is that cake legal?