Chocoloaf

For the next four months, I will have all kinds of time to cook. And I'll be making this again!

I just got back from Recipe Guy's place and I came home to yet more snow. I knew I shouldn't have gotten on that airplane. But hey, at least I don't have calculus homework to do.

I didn't come up with this recipe myself, I found it on Smitten Kitchen. I love her recipes, and the light in her kitchen. I did have to make a few adjustments to this one though. I decreased the sugar a bit because I know I'm going to cover this quick, easy cake with jam and whipped cream. I also had to make some adjustments to the leavening. Yes, I'm still having leavening issues. I managed to get it up this time though.

Chocoloaf

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

As usual, preheat the oven to 325, and get everything warmed up to room temperature.

Beat the butter and sugar together. If you think you can eat this without succumbing to the temptation of covering it with home made cherry jam, add half a cup of plain white sugar.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

And then the buttermilk. Beat everything well with an electric mixer. I would add "if you have one" to that sentence, but I think I'm the only person left on the planet who still mixes stuff by hand. When I'm not at Recipe Guy's house.

Speaking of kitchen tools. Sifter. Apparently these things really do exist. I've always just used a sieve over a bowl, but this think is handy. And gives your hand a work out. Yay for popeye arms!

Sift all the dry ingredients right into the bowl with the wet stuff.

This is just about the easiest cake ever.

Mix the dry stuff in gently with a spoon until it's all just combined. You'll have a lovely thick and fluffy batter.

Spread it into a buttered and floured loaf pan.

And bake at 325 for about an hour.

Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then the rest of the way on a rack.

I think the reason the desire to cover every slice with jam and whipped cream is because of the shape. But, it's just perfect for covering with jam and whipped cream.

I'm thinking loaf is really the best shape for a cake.

What's your favourite cake shape?

Pudding Cake

Dessert. Old school.

A lot of the "pudding" that I ate as a kid was not the typical custardy stuff that most people think of. Pudding is a bit of an all purpose word for dessert in some parts of the world, and most of the ones I ate were usually baked, and looked kinda like big sweet dumplings served with a caramel-like sauce.

And then there was the chocolate version. 

Granted, my mom was a fan of all things boxed and so hers was a little more instant than this one. Hers also advertised that no bowl was needed. The packets were emptied and mixed right in the baking dish.

No dishes! I'm in.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Cake

• 1 c flour
• 5 tbsp cocoa
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2  butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla

Pudding

• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 5 tbsp cocoa
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1-1/2 c boiling water
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven. Do it now. 350 degrees. (yes, I forgot this time)

Since we're doing this with no bowls, get out a baking pan. My mom used to make the boxed stuff in a corningware casserole dish, so that's what I'm doing. A glass pan would also work nicely.

Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and cinnamon.

Sifting removes lumps not only from cocoa,

but also from baking powder.

Now, the sugar.

Mix, mix, mix.

Okay, so far, I've used the baking pan, and one dry measure, and a measuring spoon. Things used to measure dry stuff can be rinsed and put away and therefore don't count as dishes.

Measure out half a cup of milk, and then drop in blobs of butter until the liquid level rises to 1 cup. This means you've added half a cup of butter.

Microwave this for about 30 seconds until the butter is just about melted. It should finish melting as you stir it. You want it warm, but not hot, since you're going to add the egg to this. And the vanilla.

I actually measured this time.

Beat the liquid until the egg is nicely mixed in, then pour it into the dry stuff.

Stir, stir, stir.

You'll have a lovely dark, glossy, brownie-like batter.

Okay, so since we mixed the liquid in the measuring cup, you're going to have to either get a bowl or wash the cup. I washed the cup, because all that's going into it now is dry stuff, which means I can just rinse it and put it away, and therefore it is washed only once and counts only as one dish.

You have no idea how often I rationalize shit like this.

Now, for the pudding part. More brown sugar, more cocoa, and more cinnamon. Mixed all together in the measuring cup

and then sprinkled over top of the batter.

DO NOT MIX.

A cup and a half of boiling water, with a teaspoon of vanilla in it (wait, does this mean I have to wash it again?? dammit) gets poured over the back of the mixing spoon.

This does two things: one, it removes momentum from the flow of the water so that it sprinkles gently over the batter and topping, and two, it rinses the spoon off.

DO NOT MIX.

I know it looks weird, and I know you want to mix it, and I know you don't believe me that this is going to work.

Ha, totally did.

30 minutes later it comes out of the oven looking like a pan of rich, dark brownies, with hot fudge sauce bubbling all around them.

Freaky.

Tasty.

Chocolatey.

Do you think I should try the caramel version?