Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Cake of the Week: The Classics (aka Chocolate Cake and Oatmeal Cookies)

On my last day at home, I decided to bake some classics to leave for my family as I headed back to DC. Though many recipes I get exited about are a lot of bells and whistles (remember the More is More Bars, or the Caramel Apple Eggnog Cheesecake?), I do have a healthy appreciation for the classics. 

I’ve told you before that my family is way into chocolate cake. That’s all they want. And though that’s slightly boring from the creative baking standpoint, it’s spot-on from the eating point of view. Because if I could eat one dessert every day for the rest of my life, it would be this chocolate cake.

This time, I halved the recipe and made it in 8-inch pans for a smaller cake. If you make the full recipe, I recommend making 3 layers. Or bake 2, and then cut each in half for a 4-layer cake. YUMMY!!!

Ingredients:2 cups sugar

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

 Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.


I also busted out some oatmeal cookies. Because, like chocolate cake, they’re a family fave. Double the recipe and freeze some - it'll keep you in cookies for months! 

Cookie dough is like a blank canvas to me. 

Start with a standard recipe, and then add whatever you want! This time it was golden raisins, chocolate chips, and walnuts. I’m not going to lie, I may have taken some to keep me company on my red-eye…

 

Oatmeal Cookies 

(based on Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies, with some of my own variations)

1/2  cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2  cup granulated sugar

2  eggs

2  teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour

1  teaspoon baking soda

1  teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)

1 1/2  cups Oats (old fashioned, uncooked)

1/4 cup water

1  cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, spices and salt; mix well. Add oats,raisins, nuts, and chocolate chips; mix well. Add water as needed to reach a good dough-y consistency.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time Time: 08 min