Monthly Archives: March 2015

Favorite Chocolate Cake

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The internet is so great. I searched for “sour milk chocolate cake” and found the exact recipe I used last summer! Whahoo! Now I just have to remember the changes I made, also I am making a link for the next time I lose the recipe. Original Sour Milk Chocolate Cake, from The English Kitchen. This one is not vegan or dairy-free, but it is a start. The fabulous thing is that this recipe can be vegan and chocolate free (for those times I give up chocolate) and still be yummy.

I have to say that the burnt sugar icing is totally a happy accident. The frosting was supposed to be brown sugar icing, but well…you know how sugar and butter melt and merge together, but sugar and coconut oil, well, don’t? I might have had my sugar on the burner too long, but then I remembered a recipe for ice cream that started with caramelized sugar and creamer from Speedbump Kitchen.  I hate to throw out food, it’s like admitting defeat, so when it looked like I might have ruined the frosting I grabbed some So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer and started stirring. I took a little taste and was pleasantly surprised. My oldest daughter told me it was the best frosting I have ever made. Great. Good thing I wrote it down!

Sour Milk Chocolate (Carob) Cake
With Burnt Sugar Frosting

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa or carob powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 banana or 1 large egg
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup sour non-dairy milk
1 TBS vanilla

Pre-heat the oven to 350*F.  I used spray coconut oil to grease a 7×11 pyrex pan. A 9″ round cake pan would also work.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Mix together the sour milk and vanilla.  Add to the dry ingredients.  Stir until moistened and then add the coconut oil while stirring (lumps of hardened coconut oil are not ideal). Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed or use a whisk and beat it by hand to offset the calories.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes until it tests done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the  oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.  NO need to remove from the pan.

Note – Even if plant-based milk is past date it isn’t really “sour” so I add 1 TBS of vinegar in a measuring cup and add enough milk to make up 1 cup of liquid.

Burnt Sugar Frosting

1/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk creamer
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
dash of salt

Melt coconut oil and brown sugar in medium pot. Bring to a bubble and keep stirring. Remove from heat and add creamer and STAND BACK because it will sputter! And the sugar will harden. Whisk the mixture until sugar lumps dissolve. Keep stirring, it will work. And stir some more, until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Add more powdered sugar if needed to be a spreadable consistency.

This cake doesn’t really need frosting and the two times I have put frosting on this cake it turned weird the next day. The frosting looked like it had melted in spots, even though I know I waited for the cake to cool before I frosted it. I don’t know. I still tasted great, just didn’t look right. So, only serve it to company right after you frost it or just eat it all yourself. Enjoy!

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Find That Recipe!

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Last summer I had some almond milk languishing in my fridge while my family was on vacation. I didn’t want to throw it out so I started to look for baked goods that called for a lot of sour milk. I found a chocolate cake recipe and we loved it! My kids ate it without frosting. I meant to frost it, but we ate it all before I got around to it. So, months later I have found a half-gallon of almond milk that was lost in the back of the fridge. How did new milk get opened before this one? No idea. My fault though since no one else in the house uses milk. I can only blame missing ice cream on my husband. He has a milk phobia. Anyway, I thought, hey I’ll make that cake again! Only I have no idea where the recipe is. Now the hunt begins!

Ginger Vodka, I mean Preserving Fresh Ginger

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I had a bad habit of buying fresh ginger, using about two inches of it and then letting the rest of it rot in my pantry. My mom would put hers in the freezer, but I didn’t think that worked well. The ginger became spongy and tasted like the freezer. I think she kept it in the freezer instead of throwing it out. For some reason we don’t feel so guilty about throwing food away if we have kept it over a year. I knew there had to be a better plan. So, I looked to the internet for an answer. Thank you Crunchy Betty! She is kinda done posting for now, and I miss reading new stuff from her. However, there is still a ton on her blog that I refer to as needed. Anyway, I peeled 1/2 a pound of fresh ginger with the side of a spoon and then popped it into a pint jar and covered it with vodka. Perfect for grating into stir fry.  Also, perfect for ginger in smoothies.  I didn’t think about drinking the vodka until I had two little knobs of ginger floating in a pint of vodka. Hmm…what to do? To the internet! I found several recipes that looked promising. I used what I had in the fridge and made what I will call a Ginger Vodka Cocktail.

3 oz ginger infused vodka
juice of half a lime
1 oz honey syrup (half honey half water)

Pour into a shaker with ice. Shake, strain into chilled martini glass.

This would probably also be good in a high ball glass with ice and soda. I’ll try that next time. It will probably be awhile. I don’t drink often and plus I have to use my ginger first.