Apparently today is Chocolate Cake Day. Personally I wouldn’t have thought the chocolate cake celebration should be confined to just one day of the year, but I suppose January 27 is just a good an anchor as any other day.
While I love chocolate cake, I don’t really have a favorite chocolate cake recipe. I like to try lots of things. I’m particularly fond of Anna’s chocolate zucchini cake and I love bundt cakes with tunnels of fudge. But since I don’t have a favorite, it was easy to try a new recipe a few months back. I found it in More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin:
Happy Winter Fudge Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and butter a 9 1/2- by 3-inch springform pan fitted with a tube bottom.
- Melt 3 squares semisweet chocolate in a heavy saucepan over low heat
and let the chocolate cool. - In a bowl mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder,
and 1 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda. - In another bowl with a mixer mix 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons softened butter,
cut in little pieces, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt and
then beat in the melted chocolate. - Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and add 1 cup chocolate
morsels, large or small. - Turn the batter into the pan and bake the cake in the middle of the
oven for 45 minutes. The cake will pull away slightly from the side of
the pan. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes, remove the side of the pan,
and invert the cake onto a plate, removing the bottom of the pan.
She suggests adding lots of icing flowers if you’re trying to entice children to eat an “un-iced” cake, but YA and I ate it sans decorations and it was quite rich, moist and fudgy (is that a word?)
Tell me your idea for a favorite chocolate to eat today? Or do you prefer a different day to celebrate chocolate cake?
Trail Baboon 
vs your recent email raised questions about photography in old posts. By coincidence, moments ago I Googled “Arabia beehive mug” to see if there is another 1970s mug “out there” on the internet if I should happen to break the mug I own and love. That’s the mug I spent 32 years trying to find after breaking the one I once owned. My search yielded a gorgeous photo. Then I realized I was looking at my mug and my photo from a 2018 TB post! So, yeah, now I’m thinking there is value in protecting old TB images.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Well whadya know!
LikeLike
Husband was yearning for something chocolate the other day, mainly because we have lots of bittersweet chips we should use up. He got out our ancient copy of Maida Heather’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, only to find that most of the cake recipes either use cocoa or unsweetened chocolate, which we have, but which doesn’t solve the chip problem. I reminded him I have pie crust dough in the freezer that could be easily used in chocolate tart, so he may expand his search. I have really reduced my chocolate intake over the past several years for some reason. I have no idea why.
LikeLiked by 6 people
That should be Heatter, not Heather.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My favorite chocolate treats are Belgian Hazelnut Praline Chocolate Seashells. I used to find them in Walmart here, but not lately. Hmm. Since my birthday is coming up, I think I might order some Thanks for the prompt, vs!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m not a big cake fan. I’ve had some really yummy cakes, but it’s just not my first choice.
My moms refrigerator cheese cake, while not exactly the same thing, will always be my top choice. I had to make it for myself for my last birthday and I had to call mom for help, but it was pretty darn good. Otherwise I prefer white cake over chocolate cake. But for chocolate treats, the mini Reese‘s, kept in the fridge, have been a staple the last few months.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I am a dark chocolate fan – 90% dark, 75% dark, dark with a bit of red chile, it’s all good. I will eat milk chocolate, but dark is what I prefer. This also means I like dark, rich chocolate cakes. The recipe above sounds like one i should try. This is one of Daughter’s preferred chocolate cakes – it’s a dark cocoa flavored cake (and I think it amuses Daughter that she is eating beer… even though the alcohol bakes off). Renee, this would use some of your chips: https://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/ganached-guinness-goodness/
LikeLiked by 5 people
Husband thinks that sounds wonderful!
LikeLiked by 2 people
He also says there is such a thing as chocolate stout.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is – it’s what I use when I bake this cake. Adds a little more depth. And since you wind up with a partial can of stout left over, I prefer chocolate stout to “regular,” so….
LikeLiked by 4 people
Excellent timing, VS – Joel’s birthday is Saturday, and this year I’d already decided to make him a cake – I feel sure that I’ll choose one from this day on the blog – there are already two in the running.
And I love Laurie Colwin’s cookbooks, for the stories as well as the recipes.
If brownies count (and I think they should), I have a favorite from a 1987 issue of Chocolatier, summed up as follows:
[Brackets] mine.
Melt [in microwave]: 1 stick butter and 2 oz unsweet. chocolate
Add to a bowl containing:
1 C. sugar (combination of white & brown, or turobinado)
1/2 C. flour [at least]
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Beat and add:
2 large room temp. eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 – 2 C. [!] coarsely chopped walnuts.
Spread into buttered and floured 8″ baking dish or pie plate.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Ooo- I haven’t had brownies in a long time. Mom used to make some once in a while. We just don’t. Haven’t.
The ones with caramel mixed in with them?? Ooo, so good!
LikeLiked by 3 people
I think you know me well enough by now to know that brownies absolutely count.
LikeLiked by 4 people
And I forgot to say they’re called, appropriately enough “Walnut Brownies”.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wife and I enjoy an ounce of almond-sea salt dark chocolate most nights from Endangered Species. Delish. Also socks-knocking-off-worthy is the dark chocolate with sea salt candies we found at Costco a few times. They have a gooey center (square and about 1″ thick). Hooo-boy!
I’ve made dozens of recipes from Maida Heatter’s chocolate cookbook. Her “World’s Best Hot Fudge” has got to be one of the all-time great chocolate creations. Soooo decadent and satisfying. Great poured over ice cream but almost better when it has chilled and hardened and you can scoop a spoonful and lick it for ten minutes like a lollipop.
Chris in O-town
LikeLiked by 4 people
Ooh! That hot fudge sauce is the very best!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I like the ‘magic shell’ toppings for ice cream.
We still talk about the hot fudge sundaes we used to get a from a restaurant here called ‘Tinklers’ (in a cool old bank building with huge granite pillars out front). That had the best hot fudge any of us had had.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Intentional to have this on Mozart’s birthday?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good one! There’s a pie called Chocolate Rhapsody:
https://www.cooksrecipes.com/dessert/chocolate_rhapsody_recipe.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Think of that with a cheesecake layer at the bottom instead of sponge cake!
LikeLiked by 2 people
The Chocolate Rhapsody can be served with Bach’s Coffee Cantata:
LikeLiked by 2 people
I didn’t put Chocolate Cake Day on Mozart’s birthday. If you look it up online you’ll find several references to chocolate cake day being today. But I’m pretty sure Mozart liked chocolate cake, don’t you think?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Rise and Shine, Baboons,
My favorite chocolate cake is German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake. It was my dad’s favorite, and slowly through the years, it became the “family cake.” These are a pain to make, but they are also worth the pain. I would love to make one for our “Baboon End of Pandemic Party” that will happen someday and substitute for today’s Chocolate cake Day. .
It is the coconut pecan frosting the makes this cake so delicious.
Monday I met a friend for coffee and had a delicious Chocolate Mousse Cake. It was so worth the calories.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Oooh, sounds marvelous!
LikeLike
Several people posting here know far more than I about brownies. I only made them once. The recipe I used is one favored by Kate Hepburn. Like the actress, the recipe is simple, elegant and wonderful. Copies of it are easily found on the internet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, More Home Cooking also contains the Kate Hepburn recipe. I just compared it with my Walnut Brownie recipe – only difference is Kate uses 1/4 C. flour instead of 1/2 C., and 1/2 tsp. vanilla instead of 1 tsp. (!) In the book, Laurie Colwin says: “If there were no other reason to admire Katharine Hepburn, this pan of brownies would be enough to make you worship her.”
LikeLiked by 4 people
The only reason I have not tried Ms. Hepburn’s famous recipe is because I have a brownie recipe I pulled from the STrib when I was in high school that is my go-to. It has a nice chocolate flavor, is almost impossible to screw up, and lends itself to adjustments and changes like using orange extract instead of vanilla or adding cinnamon (or both).
LikeLiked by 4 people
sounds like you’d better post it anna
you know we really should put the recipe file back into play
is the $10 adder to make us whole a thing yet? i’m in favor
LikeLike
ok
glad you got through today
now therapy tomorrow
then work as a respite
cool
catch up with you after
LikeLike
whoops
meant for my daughter
wrapping up ore surgery day
off to the event for 530 am arrival
i’ll be back here in a minute
LikeLiked by 2 people
so i’m not a chocolate cake guy
i don’t dislike it but it doesn’t call out to me
if i put a bag of m&ms out i’ll eat them
if they’re not there it will never occur to me
trips to italy taught me to love tiramisu
hot fudge peanut butter malt is a go to
costco has a chocolate torte i really like and dark chocolate covered blueberries that i enjoy but never yearn for
my ex made the worlds best cheese cake
i’ll get the recipe and post it later
it’s that good that i will even track out to her… need her spinach roulade recipe too then i can be done with her
LikeLike
Ooh, yes to tiramisu! And I have a good recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Torte.
LikeLike
so surgery is going to be a big deal
2 weeks of wearing a bag
6 weeks before i can pull myself up into my pickup truck
no lifting for 6 weeks
my next wife will need to find a donor for my future kids
i’m hoping i can talk them into morphine
i like morphine
i don’t like switching to whatever comes after morphine but i love morphine
i am told it’s pretty straight forward stuff but still
a tough way to lose 6 oz
see you later baboons
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thinking of you and sending my best wishes for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck with Thurgery.
LikeLike
By golly you’re right, it IS Thurgery!
LikeLike
We’re with all the way tim!
LikeLike
I have a favorite recipe for a flourless chocolate torte that they used to serve at the River Room at the old Dayton’s store in downtown St. Paul. It’s mostly chocolate, sugar, and egg yolks. Pretty simple and easy. Best with real whipped cream and a little raspberry sauce on top.
My go-to brownie recipe is the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook recipe. It has to be an old BH&G cookbook, though, because they made a little change in the recipe sometime between the publication of my mother’s copy and mine. I have both copies now, and I always go back to the old classic one for the brownie recipe. I think it was the first thing I ever learned to bake.
LikeLiked by 2 people