When Is National Chocolate Cake Day?national chocolate cake day?When is national chocolate cake day?Chocolate Cake Day is January 27
Need I say anymore? No.
And, Yes Virginia, a Chocolate God does exists! And since January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day I must say more and share this recipe with you.
This happens to be the very first cake I learned to make on my own via my grandmother – as I believe it was one of her favorites. Moist, super light, oh so chocolaty and super easy to make – it’s one of those one bowl/pan wonders!
In making this delicious fudge-y-chocolate cake since I was 9 – since it’s so easy to make, invite your kids on into the kitchen to make this one with you while they strengthen their baking skills.
At 8″x8″ square, this cake is perfect for smaller celebrations, or heck! – When you simply need some good chocolate in a hurry. (The orange and lemon butter cream frosting recipe is also posted below).
For topping this great tasting cake, I have made orange butter cream frosting or even simply sifted confectioner’s sugar or whipped cream to top cake with. I usually top this with my homemade orange butter cream to top this cake when making it as seen in the photo.
Sorry the photo is not of better quality – I am sure I was drooling with excitement seeing that fork ready for grabbing and couldn’t wait to get that bite into my wanting mouth. Plus the photo was taken with an older camera.
TIPS:
This recipe calls for Buttermilk or Sour Milk Tip for this Recipe: – don’t have buttermilk on hand? Nor sour milk? Here’s how to make sour milk on the quick. And yes, using normal fresh milk just will not do for this recipe! I assure you, and as a kid, I couldn’t wait till the milk went sour just so I could make this cake.
Take the fresh milk that you are going to use, add 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice to it, and simply wait for ten minutes to pass, it will then curdle for you and be ready for this recipe!
I know using sour milk sounds just odd, but it helps and is the reason why this chocolate cake is so moist and tender and not heavy like some recipes can be such as in a seven layer German chocolate cake.
Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 squares unsweetened chocolate (2 ounces) (or 2 tablespoons cocoa powder)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup cake flour (regular flour ok too – though it won’t be as high)
- 1-1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk (yes, sour milk no kidding!)
- Recipe for Lemon Butter cream frosting under separate listing…see my page for instructions.
- Greased 8″x8″ square baking pan
- Whisk, wooden spoon
- 1-1/2 qt sauce pan – this is the one you would use when heating up a Campbell’s can of soup.
- one working stove at 350 degrees
- one working stove top burner on low-medium heat
- the need for chocolate to be answered but bad and quickly.
Orange Butter Cream Frosting Recipe is below.
Directions:
- Start to preheat your oven at 350 degrees.
- Grab that sauce pan, place on burner at low-medium heat.
- Melt butter and cut up chocolate and place into pan on stove.
- Add water and sugar, stir till well combined.
- Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes. Here’s a TRICK: If you have melted it on a really low heat (as I always do, you need maybe only five minutes cooling time if that) – you just don’t want to cook the egg when you add it, hence why the cooling off period, this cooling off period will test your patience, I forewarn you.
- Add vanilla and stir.
- Add egg and stir till well combined
- Sift flour and measure again for accuracy: then add all dry ingredients left: salt, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sift one more time.
- Alternately add the dry (flour mixture) and wet ingredients (buttermilk/sour milk) a little at a time.
- Beat vigorously by hand for one minute or until smooth. Some exercise has got to happen somewhere people to work off those upcoming calories.
- Pour into greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick comes out cleanly. Do not over bake!
- Let cool on trivet on counter. Again, patience will be tested.
- Once cool, roughly 2 hours later – though I never wait that long, I spread cake with lemon or orange butter cream frosting (leaving it in the pan) – using just 1/2 of a normal recipe for butter cream.
- You can also simply dust with confectioner’s sugar.
- Store any leftover’s which normally won’t last the night into the fridge depending upon the number of elves you may have in your home.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound confectioner’s/powered sugar sifts
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla, lemon or orange extract
- 3+ tablespoons orange juice (fresh juice makes it extra good)
- zest of one orange.
Directions:
- Let butter come to room temperature, and beat in mixer
- Add half of the sugar, and the juice, zest etc.
- Then add remaining sugar and continue to beat, slowly at first.
- If frosting is still rather thick, add more OJ juice, but only a tablespoon at a time else you thin it out… enough to frost top and sides of 8×8 cake…. enjoy!
I have been known to place semi-cooled cake into freezer after five minutes being out of oven, and let it stay in freezer for ten – then take out to frost. The top of the cake will be cool enough to frost, while the inside will still be warm – you will be in heaven, and again, you are forewarned…heaven is a good place to be.
National Chocolate Cake Day is January 27th:
Also on this day in history:
1521 The Diet of Worms begins. Not a fad diet, but the assembly of the Holy Roman Empire at which Martin Luther made his famous appearance. (I’m not going to try this one)
1832 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born. Dodgson’s pen name was Lewis Carroll. He was an English mathematician and creator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice had a habit of eating and drinking unknown substances. (Do I choose the bite me or drink me?)
1851 John James Audubon died. Ornithologist, naturalist and artist, known mainly for his paintings and sketches of North American birds. (chirp)
1910 Thomas Crapper died. He is the frequently said to have invented the flush toilet. He was a plumber, he had several patents issued, but they seem to be improvements to devices invented by others. (When was the last time you cleaned your toilet?) (Don’t answer that one!)
1922 Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Jane Cochran) died. In 1889 Bly successfully completed an attempt to beat the record of Jules Verne’s fictional Phileas Fogg to go ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’. Bly was a U.S. newspaper reporter and completed the journey in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds.
1950 ‘Science’ magazine announce the discovery of the new antibiotic, terramyacin. What made it unusual is that Pfizer & Co. had discovered the antibiotic in a soil sample from Indiana. Pfizer had been searching soil samples from around the world for new bacteria fighting organisms.
1984 Michael Jackson’s hair catches fire while filming a Pepsi commercial.
