Chocolate Cake Makes Everybody Happy

     When my dad requested a “chocolate-chocolate” cake for his birthday last week, everyone had their own opinion on what kind of cake we should have. Of course, no one can agree in such a large family. Will wanted red velvet, mom wanted white wedding cake, and Lily wanted strawberry. I knew just what to make, however, and since it was dad’s birthday, we were definitely having what he requested. As soon as I pulled the cakes out of the oven, everyone's complaints ended immediately. Not surprisingly, by the time we sang happy birthday, they had clearly forgotten they wanted another kind of cake. 


     This “chocolate-chocolate” cake, made triply-chocolate with the addition of some beautiful chocolate curls inspired by an episode of The Pioneer Woman, comes straight off the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa box. An oldie but a goodie, this recipe was the star of almost every childhood birthday party I can remember (the other times we had Wal-Mart cake, but you know I wasn’t complaining). My aunt always makes this chocolate cake when we celebrate the summer birthdays on vacation. I’ve never known it to turn out poorly. It always comes out moist and never dry, perfectly chocolate, and just about the best thing you can eat. Make it even better by serving it warm topped with vanilla ice cream, like we always do.

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Cake

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. boiling water

Frosting

• 1/2 c. butter
• 2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Extras

• Milk or semi-sweet chocolate for chocolate curls to decorate the cake

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans.
2. Cake: Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin). Pour immediately into pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.
3. Frosting: Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes approximately 2 c. of frosting.
4. Assembly: After cakes have cooled completely, frost in between the layers and then over the top and sides. Make some fancy chocolate curls by melting the chocolate, spreading it over the back of a metal baking sheet, and cooling for 15 minutes in the freezer. Pull the sheet out of the freezer and using a spoon like we did or a fancy metal spatula, scrape across the chocolate so it curls up. You'll get the hang of it eventually - it took us quite a few tries to get them right! Experiment with thickness and lengths. Don't worry if the chocolate chips up, sprinkle it over the cake and it'll look just as fancy. It definitely tastes good, and that's the most important part, right?

Meet Ollie

Meet Ollie! He doesn't like posing for pictures.

Oliver, frequently known as Ollie when he’s being good, is my yorkie. The runt of the litter, I named him after Oliver Twist, because he’s a particularly waifish little guy. He’s always begging for more: more food, more attention, more love. You name it, he wants more of it.

 

 

Please can I have some more?

I used to take Ollie to the groomer and let them fix him up all handsome, but it turns out he and the groomer do not get along. He was always failing his report cards and catching colds from the other puppies there, so now I just groom him myself. This adds to his waifish appearance. He generally has at least one ear flopping over, and his beard is always uneven, but we love him for it anyways. He’s happier, at least.

 

 

Ollie likes taking Lortab when he gets sick.

Ollie has a gimp leg. He hobbles around like a crippled old man. At some point, he will have to have surgery, but the last time I took him to the vet for it, he “conveniently” had a cold that prevented us from fixing him up. In fact, every single time we go to the vet, just like when we go to the groomer, Ollie catches a cold. So, in addition to not being able to groom him, I also can’t board him at the kennel, and he has to live with a gimp leg. Ollie leads a hard, hard life. And he lets us know it, too. 

Ollie "helps" with schoolwork.

This is where the “little man” syndrome comes in. Because his life is so hard, Ollie feels like he can boss us all around. Ollie hates when he does not have everyone's full 100% attention and lets us know his exasperation over being ignored by barking at us. Over and over and over again. We've tried lots of different tactics, but Ollie knows how to get what he wants. Usually, we end up just loving on him and paying him the attention he thinks he deserves. He is most definitely spoiled.

Of course, being spoiled means you always get delicious treats. Ollie loves to eat everything except his dog food. A few of his particular favorites in order are: 1) kitty food; 2) peanut butter; 3) cheese; 4) chicken. He has been known to make himself sick from “binge eating” his favorite treats. He has a hard time with self control, but it’s just so good he can’t stop. He also loves chewing on rawhides that are bigger than his head. This lets the other pets know he’s not afraid of a challenge.  

Don't mess with kennel time.

When Ollie gets down on his life, he retreats to his kennel. This is where he spends most of his time. It's his house, his safe place. You are not allowed to mess with him in there. Try it, and you will have one pissed off little guy on your hands. Sometimes he lets his B.F.F. Monty sleep with him, but you better believe he doesn't share very often. Ollie's kennel is where he keeps his babies, his rawhides, and anything he doesn’t want to lose. Everywhere we go, the kennel has to go. Ollie is not a light packer, just like his mama.

Road-trippin'!

Sometimes, Ollie goes to hang out with his friends, Brees and Lucy. They are beautiful Westies, who always get good grades on their groomer report card and are perfectly well-behaved. With his home-made haircut and jealousy issues, Ollie had a hard time getting along with them at first. When he realized they had a big, fenced-in back yard and didn’t have to wear a leash, he decided he could tolerate them, and they’re finally good friends. Sometimes, Lucy and Brees even share their bed with Ollie, who hasn’t quite decided if he likes that sharing thing yet.

Brees & Lucy, Ollie's new B.F.F.'s(?)

When he's not sleeping or barking at everybody, Ollie enjoys going on walks. He likes to defend his territory by marking the same bushes and trees every single day. He's a predictable guy. When he meets people outside he doesn't know, he likes to pretend he's an angel by wagging his tail and cowering down for petting. This good behavior is a complete ruse, because as soon as we come back inside, he's back to his sassy, demanding ways.

Contemplating going for a swim.

Ollie doesn’t like to be left out of any action. He likes to “help” with my crafts and bark at me while I’m baking. His help comes in the form of untangling and re-tangling yarn by dragging it all over the room, scratching at my hands to re-focus my attention on him, and telling me what I’m doing wrong while I’m baking (usually what I’m doing wrong is that I’m not letting him sample my recipes).

All of that sassing and helping wears Ollie out big time, so he rarely misses the opportunity to take a nap. He seems like such a sweet, well-behaved little guy when you see him like this, but don't let it fool you.

Strawberry Birthday Cake

Having Gwen at the condo for the summer has been such a blast. We celebrated her birthday several weeks ago, and I made a simple strawberry cake, following Paula Deen’s Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake recipe. I also made it for my little sister's birthday the week before, and it was a huge hit on both occasions. Surprisingly, it barely calls for any butter! Just lots of sugar ;) 

Before we enjoyed cake and ice cream, we ate at Zea's Rotisserie and Grill, an absolutely fabulous restaurant that specializes in American food. The barbecue was amazing! Gwen and I both had ribs. Sadly, I was feeling sick and didn't enjoy it as much as I would normally have. Next time will most definitely be different, and I'll make sure to come with an appetite. A few photos of our evening: 

Here’s the Strawberry Cake recipe, as promised. Make this for your friend's next birthday party - it will not disappoint! And, you can't go wrong with a pink cake ;) Adding a bit of red food coloring to the icing would make the icing even pinker, if you want to go all out. I will definitely have to remember that for next time. 

 Cake:

• 1 box white cake mix (I used Duncan Hine’s)
• 1 3 oz. box strawberry instant gelatin
• 1 (16 oz.) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed (you’ll need some for the icing, too)
• 4 large eggs
• ½ c. vegetable oil
• ¼ c. water

Frosting:

• 1 8 oz. package softened cream cheese
• ¼ c. strawberry puree (saved from the cake mix)
• ½ tsp. strawberry extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 7 c. confectioner’s sugar
• Fresh strawberries for garnish

 

 

Instructions:

1.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.

2.   Cake: In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries (save ¼ c. for the icing), eggs, oil, and water. Beat at medium speed using a mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 20-23 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

3.   Icing: Cream butter and cream cheese. Beat in the saved ¼ c. strawberry puree, strawberry extract, and vanilla. Add the confectioner’s sugar gradually, beating until the icing is smooth.

4.  Assembly: After the cakes have cooled, spread frosting between layers and on the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with fresh strawberries if you’d like.