Laughter=Good

I hope you will laugh with me over this one!  I was clearly perplexed with the semi-failure of the ginger snaps in my post It’s A Snap.  After posting the recipe, my mind kept going over the amount of flour I had listed and the amount I had used.  I just kept going back over it in my head until I finally deduced that the amount called for and the amount I added to the bowl were not the same!  Hahahahaha!!  The amount called for is 2 1/2 cups and I am 95% certain that I only added 1 1/2 cups of flour.  This would solve the mess of the runny dough and oh so flat cookies.  I may try my hand at these again with the proper amount of flour and see if they don’t turn out more like a snap instead of a wafer. Adoring hubby and Miss T ate them anyway, as I said they tasted great, so not a complete failure, but laughable nonetheless.  Here is a quote from Anna Fellows Johnston (1863-1931) that sums up my dilemma with the ginger snaps, “Remember, men need laughter sometimes more than food”.  The ginger snap snafu is a perfect fit for Ms. Fellows Johnston’s quirky quote.  If you wanted to learn something new today, Anna Fellows Johnston was an American author of children’s fiction, who wrote the popular “Little Colonel” series, which was the basis for the 1935 film starring Shirley Temple, The Little Colonel.  

Now that you are thoroughly educated, let’s move on to chocolate cake.  If I had a choice of laughter or this chocolate cake I might develop frown lines rather quickly.  This chocolate cake was a request by Miss T for eating at breakfast on her actual birthday – today.

She didn’t care what kind of cake, as long as it was chocolate and had cream cheese frosting.  We went to the grocery yesterday to get a few ingredients I was out of and she headed off in the wrong direction.  I questioned where she was headed and nearly died when she said she was going to look for a cake mix and a can of icing.  I don’t know this kid, willing to eat a cake mix for her birthday!  I won’t say I’ve never made cake from a box but on a birthday it is always made from scratch.  A special day deserves a special cake. She wandered off anyway and came back with a can of cream cheese icing!  “What in the world?”, I asked.  “I want cream cheese icing Mom”, she replied.  I straightened that idea out quickly and we headed for the dairy isle of the store.   Things have been a touch crazy around here the past couple of weeks, I suppose she was trying to make it easy on me. But really, cream cheese frosting in a can?  EEEE-gads, not happening!  I told her I thought I was capable of making chocolate cream cheese frosting and a big smile spread across her face.

The cake is moist, flavorful and possibly the simplest cake I’ve ever made, not in a box! Making the cream cheese frosting was, well, a piece of cake.  The incredible part of making this cake is that you dump all the ingredients in a bowl and mix.  No beating, and adding, and beating more.  The frosting chocolatey with a touch of cream cheese tang! Perfection, that I could sit and eat with a spoon – who needs a cake? Simple and delicious, and it brought a beautiful smile to my daughters beautiful seventeen year old face this morning as she gulped down the first piece on her way out the door.  She did stop to blow out candles and enjoy a serenade by her dad and me before heading off into her teenage world.  Ahhhhh, what a life!

Plan to keep this recipe in your recipe file as it is a winner.  Speaking of recipes and files, how do you store recipes that you just can’t live without?  In a box, a file, a pile, a book, how?  Just curious…

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs (farm fresh)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 300* – yes 300*.  Lightly grease your pans of choice.  2- 9″ round cake pans, 9×13″ layer pan, or cupcake pans. Put all the ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix on medium to medium high with an electric mixer, until all ingredients are well combined.  Pour into greased pans and bake for 40 minutes- 2 pans, 1 hour- layer pan, or 20 minutes-cupcakes .  When a knife inserted in the center comes out clean the cake is done.  Allow cake to cool for about 10 minutes then remove to racks for complete cooling before frosting.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.
Add sugar one cup at a time and blend well after each addition.
Mix in cocoa powder.  

This makes plenty of icing for a 2 layer cake!