Pardon My Dust

Christmas is over and the new year is in full swing...I have been cooking, I just haven't been posting.  I am so NAUGHTY.  I have dug up some awesome childhood memory recipes over the last few weeks, but I can't post them until they've been through the rigorous testing process...which means I gotta make 'em and then have someone eat 'em.  Also, one is top secret for a party so I can't post it until the weekend anyway.

In the meantime, we've been making Chocolate Pudding Cake as the standard Sunday Dinner dessert at our house for the last few weeks.  Never had it before?  Think chocolate cake with a layer of hot fudge pudding on the bottom.  And it does that all in the oven without your help.  You can make it Vegan and you will more than likely have all the stuff in your kitchen already, so no trudging out in the snow for ingredients.  And warm out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream? (Moosetracks!!!)  Fuggedaboudit! 

Chocolate Pudding Cake

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk (you can use soy or almond milk)
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 cups hot water

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
~Mix in the milk, butter and vanilla.
~Spread the batter into a 9x13 pan.
~Mix together the white sugar, brown sugar and cocoa powder.  Sprinkle all the mixture evenly over the cake batter. 
~Pour the hot water over the sugar mixture.
~Bake in oven for 40 minutes.  Don't worry about testing it.  It should look like cake with little pudding volcanoes here and there.
~Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.  Scoop into bowls and serve. 

Great Cakes of Chocolate!



The Chocolate Sheet Cake came to
a Twilight Party...watching the movie was almost
as hard as trying to get the grammar wrong.

 This cake contains a whole lotta cocoa powder and nearly one entire pound of butter.  I say nearly because you rudely have to cut a 2 tablespoon sized chunk off a stick of butter when you make the frosting, and then stand there the whole time you're making the frosting wondering just what you're going to do with that poor, lonely piece of butter.

Don't fret too much, though, because this amazing cake is going to take your attention away from that soon enough.  Mostly because i'm a big fan of anything that says "heaping tablespoons of cocoa".  Your guess of an exact measurement of "heaping" is as good as mine, but it's always nearly a good idea with chocolate to error on the side of quite a lot. 

And then the size...I've heard this called "Texas Sheetcake" before, because it's just a massive panful cake, this version of it being completely decadent. So in our house it's about 6 servings. ;)

This is the perfect cake for a kids party.  You don't even have to take it out of the pan!  I like to fancy mine up with a generous sprinkling of M&M's while the wickedly fudgy frosting is still warm so they'll stick.  Bon appetit!

Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks of butter
4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder


- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar and salt and set aside.
- In a small bowl mix together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and soda and set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Meanwhile, boil 1 cup of water. When butter is melted, pour the boiling water into the cocoa mixture and allow to bubble for a moment, then turn off the heat.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the flour mixture.
- Stir together to cool the chocolate slightly, then add buttermilk mixture and stir well.
- Pour into an ungreased half sheet pan (18 x 13 inches).
- Bake for 20 minutes or until cake tests done. While the cake is baking, make the icing.

Icing:

1 and 3/4 sticks butter
4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound (3 and 3/4 cups) powdered sugar


- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat.
- Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.
- Add the milk, vanilla and powdered sugar. Whisk together.
- Pour over cake immediately after it comes out of the oven.  
- Spread the frosting around gently to cover the whole cake.
- Allow to cool before serving.