Tuesday, March 28, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND A CAKE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Today is my dear friend Rita's birthday. The first part of 2017 has been rough for Rita. Her beloved cat Karma died, and she's had surgery on both of her eyes. I hope you'll hop over to SoulComfort's Corner to wish her a happy birthday.

My Favorite Young Man had a birthday on Sunday. He's now thirty-seven years old. I mentioned that I would make a cake for him and use my mother's chocolate frosting recipe, and Anne in the kitchen of new happenings at the table and whatever asked if I share recipes. I do share, so today instead of grammar tips, you get chocolate frosting tips.

This recipe is not exactly the same as my mother's because I've modified it over the years. It was a big favorite when my children were growing up, and a big favorite when I was growing up.

First, bake a 13x9 cake. This frosting isn't thick enough to stay on a layer cake. I like to get pretty durn fancy, so I used a yellow cake mix.



Slop about one-third cup butter and one-third cup milk in a small saucepan. Add one cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I think my mom used two squares unsweetened baking chocolate, but in a second, you'll know why I use the chocolate chips).


Stir over low heat until the chocolate chips melt. Eat a few chocolate chips before you put the pan on the burner because you'll need strength from the chocolate to get through this detailed and complicated process.


When you buy the chocolate chips, be sure to get a much bigger package of them than you need. Pour the remaining chocolate chips into a Tupperware container and hide them in the back of a cabinet in case of a chocolate emergency, which can occur as frequently as everyday.


Here's what the mixture looks like when the chocolate chips have melted. It's kind of like chocolate soup.


Stir in one cup of granulated sugar. Return to heat, a little bit higher, but watch it carefully.


Bring to a low boil for one minute. Remove the mixture from the stove and set the bottom of the pan in cold water. DO NOT let the water get in the pan. Stir the chocolate until you feel it getting thicker.


Dump the chocolate on the cake. If you pour it on from one end of the cake to the other, then you don't have to spread it out.


Let it cool for a bit so the chocolate hardens some, but you want it to remain kind of soft because that's how it tastes best (helpful hint: you can also make this frosting, let it cool a bit, and then pour as much as you want on a bowl filled with ice cream; you will think you have died and gone to heaven).

Cut a piece of cake and put it on a pretty red plate. Devour.


Now here's what irritated the heck out of me when the kids were young and my son still does this: the corner pieces are the best because the frosting runs down along the front and the side of the cake. See how I cut a piece of cake from the first corner? It stands to reason that the next piece of cake would be cut from the middle, but oh no! My son cut the next piece from the other corner. Thus, you end up with a cake that is nothing but middle, but it still tastes good.


Yes, Hurricane, you can have your cake and eat it, too.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

35 comments:

  1. I've dropped by at Rita's and wished her a happy birthday, and expressed condolences about her cat.

    I know what you mean about the corner pieces being the best. It works that way with pizza, too: if you cut it in squares instead of wedges, the pieces around the edge are great, the ones in the middle just wonderful, and my favorite are the small corner pieces...

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    1. Thanks for visiting Rita. If I make homemade pizza, I cut it in squares. Yummy!

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  2. That is one delicious looking cake.

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    1. I sang happy birthday to my son. I think he was pleased.

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  3. Just left birthday and other good wishes to Rita.

    The cake looks great!

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    1. Thanks for doing that. The cake is yummy. I wish I could send you a piece--a corner piece.

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  4. That looks delicious. Happy belated birthday to your boy.

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    1. He hasn't celebrated his birthday yet, other than eating a piece of the cake.

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  5. I support and endorse your chocolate chips philosophy.

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    1. Thank you. I might run for office on a chocolate chips platform, though it would probably melt under me.

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  6. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, chocolate!! (I'm sending Rita an email.)

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  7. These are the best recipe instructions I've ever seen. Most people don't take into consideration the amount of extra chocolate that's required when making any recipe—even those which require no chocolate to be added—so this one is more helpful than most. Thanks for sharing the recipe as well as your tips to make the entire experience as pleasurable as possible!

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    1. So true. Most people don't understand that a recipe requires chocolate even if it's not part of what they're making. Every recipe should have chocolate as the first ingredient.

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  8. Haha! I love your son's strategy. Mine is to save the best for last. Eat the cake, then the frosting.
    Happy Birthday to your favorite young man.
    I'll go wish Rita a Happy Bday now too.
    You're a good woman, Janie Junebug.
    Love,
    Robyn

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    1. Oh, we always eat the cake and then the frosting. Doesn't everyone? I think you're a darn good woman yourself, young lady.

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  9. That looks too good for words.

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  10. I think I gained a few pounds salivating over this post.

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    1. The saliva you lost weighed a few pounds, so it came out even.

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  11. Oh my gosh now I'm craving a big piece of chocolate cake. I could eat half that pan, no joke. And I would wash it down with a quart of ice cold milk!

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    1. My son has only had one piece. I'd like to eat the rest of it myself, but I'd need half a gallon of milk.

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  12. HAHA! I love the reason you use chocolate chips. This is why I buy the BIG bag.

    This is such a cool recipe. I guess we did very well on our grammar tests and today we get a treat. It's much better than a sticker :)

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    1. Definitely better than a sticker, even if it's a gold star.

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  13. Thanks, Janie! I thought everyone kept a mason jar filled with chocolate chips for those sudden chocolate emergencies,

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    1. But a Mason jar is clear glass, Anne! Everyone can see what's in it. The chocolate chips have to be hidden.

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  14. Happy Birthdays ... the chocolate cake wouldn't last around here. Hilary's tip (or perhaps Mum's tip) - hold some frosting back and then devour that last slice ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Frosting, frosting, frosting . . . I dream of frosting.

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  15. Looks 'gurt lush' as they would say where I grew up.

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  16. Last week I baked yellow cake with chocolate frosting cupcakes. I love the yellow cake and chocolate frosting. I've never done frosting or would it be considered "icing" like that? You could also, let it drip down the sides of a double chocolate bundt cake. YUM. I will have to try this soon, before it gets too hot to bake.

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  17. I'm a day late but will visit Rita as well. I love your recipe and I am drooling at the moment

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  18. Definitely you have a brilliant son!

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  19. I will absolutely be trying this recipe! But doesn't everyone have an emergency stash of chocolate in the back of the pantry?

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