Tag Archives: chocolate cake

That Old Black Magic…Cake

Posted in Holidays, Recipes, Uncategorized by

I love chocolate cake. If there were no repercussions I would eat chocolate cake every day. I love it with chocolate frosting, vanilla buttercream, Ciddy Ellifson* frosting, Seven Minute Icing and yesterday for my birthday, mint chocolate chip frosting. Why had I never thought about mint frosting for this wonderful cake? Can I have a piece for breakfast? Apparently ladies my age cannot have chocolate cake for breakfast (and still fit into their jeans). When I am an old woman and wearing a muumuu, I will have chocolate cake for breakfast. I better have a smoothie before I cave!

Anyway, this is an old recipe that exists in various forms in our grandmother’s and mother’s cookbooks. The batter is thin, but it raises up perfectly into a dark, rich, moist cake. Seriously, cake! Stop staring at me! Chocolate cakes from scratch turn out so good. I don’t know why white and yellow cakes are so tricky.

Black Magic Cake

1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong black coffee, cold
1 cup sour non-dairy milk
1/2 cup oil, olive or coconut
1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, baking powder and salt together. Add eggs, coffee, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 9×13 or two 8 or 9 inch round pans. Bake at 350* 35-40 minutes for the 9×13 or 8″, 30-35 for 9 inch pans. Check center with toothpick or cake tester. Cool in pans for 15 minutes and then turn out to cool completely on wire racks.

Next post will be some of my favorite frostings!

*This frosting recipe comes from my mama, who used people’s names for recipe titles. This frosting is used for red velvet cake and is sometimes called Velvet Icing. It’s my favorite for chocolate cake. For years I requested Black Magic Cake with Ciddy Ellifson Frosting

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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!