Let Me Eat Cake– Chocolate, Please

Who doesn't like chocolate cake, especially this cake. This recipe has been on the blog for a while now, but it was on the "Other Stuff" page. I had intended to put more topics of interest there, but instead I'm reorganizing, and the "Other Stuff" page will soon become "Classroom Design." I post this chocolate cake recipe so it is not lost.

This is a favorite summer recipe. It can be made any time of year, but for me and my life, summer is the only time I have for random baking. And summer is less stressful than the school year so I can live a bit more healthfully and enjoy a piece of not-too-decadent cake. Like all posts on the blog, this is not written as just a straightforward recipe. Gotta throw in a little fun commentary. Life is lived in the small details after all, right?

Died-and-Went-to-Heaven Chocolate Cake

Yum, yum, yummy chocolate cake

This is a great, easy, low-guilt cake. Great because it is super moist thanks to buttermilk. Easy because it is made in a bundt pan and only needs a glaze to pour over top– not frosting to spread. And Low-Guilt because it only has 220 calories and 5 grams of fat, per slice, which is 1/16 of the cake. Here we go!

Ingredients for cake:
1 3/4 C flour
1 C sugar
3/4 C cocoa powder (Dutch Process)
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/4 C buttermilk
1 C packed brown sugar
2 lg eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 C canola oil
2 t vanilla
1 C strong black coffee

Ingredients for icing:
1 C confectioners sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1 to 2 Tbs buttermilk, as needed so it pours and dribbles

Preheat the oven to 350°

Spray bundt pan with Pam and then flour. I don't have all silicon baking dishes by any means, but with this silicone bundt pan it is super easy to get cakes out.

I was married 25 years before I got my Kitchen-Aid Mixer. I only got it as a poor substitute for a spring break vacation, so it was not without it's sacrifice. But I do love it.

Note the Twin Terrors that live in the bowl... why? you ask... I have no idea. My husband got them for me for Valentine's day and threw them in there, and they just sort of took up residence. I think they are mostly there because the bowl was empty and any empty space in our house forms a vacuum which instantly fills itself. The Twin Terrors are not in ANYway reference to my younger identical twin brothers... nope... not at all... never crossed my mind.

BTW, if you have anyone living in your mixer, take them out before the next steps. grin.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder.

Stir together the buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla. Then add to dry ingredients and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. This is where I REALLY appreciate the ol' Kitchen-Aid. After 2 minutes whisk in hot coffee until completely incorporated. This will for a very thin batter– not to worry!

Pour the batter into the prepped pan. Note I keep my silicone bundt pan on a small cooling rack as it makes the soft pan easier to handle and keep its shape. I lift the cake and rack and leave both in the oven to bake.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until the tester comes out clean.

Cool cake on rack for ten minutes and then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely.

Whisk the icing ingredients until pourable. Pour over the cake on the plate. I make this cake for my health conscious friends, and my not-so-health conscious friends, too... they get ice cream on top! :)

I would happily give credit to whoever I got this recipe from, but I have had it for a long while now and have no idea of the source. Whoever made it up– Thank you! I really think it is the buttermilk and coffee that give this cake its moist, rich flavor. I never buy buttermilk any other time, and can't really imagine that I'd like it straight up, but in this recipe– yummmm. And coffee? Well, everything in life is better with a little bit of coffee. It's kinda funny though, this cake does not taste like a mocha cake. It is just good, straight-up chocolate.

Enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by for this non-typical, non-teacher post. I hope you'll swing by again... though you are not likely to find another cake recipe, there is a great oatmeal bake recipe hiding somewhere in these pages if you search. Next up on Monday, will be a new video I made. It's just a short one for the kiddos. Good for viewing to learn about fledgling birds and text-to-self connections, and Mo Willems There's a Bird on Your Head.  You just never know what the next post will hold.

See you next time.

This post first appeared on the Other Stuff page as Died-And-Went-To-Heaven Chocolate Cake on kidpeopleclassroom.com