The best chocolate cake you'll ever make. No joke.

 I LOVE cake.

Love it. Want to marry it. Would eat it every single day if I could. Chocolate cake to be specific, but really, any old cake will do. I am Miranda in Sex and the City when she throws away her cake to stop eating it, only to end up eating it out of the trash. Yes, it's that bad.

While at a friend's house one day, we were jonesing for cake, but there was nary a mix in sight. I found a recipe for a chocolate cake that we JUST had all of the ingredients for, and ended up with the best chocolate cake I'd ever made. It's not fancy, it's simple, and super moist. Since then, I've tweaked it a bit, and make it for most celebrations. After getting babies down at night, I've been known to sit down with the whole cake and a fork. Who needs a plate?

Friends have been asking for the recipe, so I thought I'd share!

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar

1  3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1   1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional) 

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk (I use unsweetened Rice milk)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour your favorite pan, or line your cupcake pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. You can also just mix by hand, but mix well... 
3. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. 20 to 25 for cupcakes.
5. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

I'm far too lazy for mixing dry ingredients in a separate bowl, so throw it all together in one, just add the boiling water LAST.

Now get ready, your friends are going to be asking YOU for the recipe! 

These also make the most amazing cake pops. Ever. 

Feel free to bring me a piece, it IS my favorite...

xo Melanie

THE cake to take to, or serve at your next party!

 I was invited to an egg hunt this weekend, and I wanted to bring something yummy. Instead of my usual chocolate something or other, I opted for my other go to favorite:

The Lemon, Rosemary, Olive Oil cake.

I am fortunate to have a lemon tree in my backyard here in beautiful SoCal, so I am always on the lookout for lemon recipes. This one is sunny and delicious, and Vegan to boot!

I want to share the recipe with you, so YOU can be a rockstar when you bring this beauty to your next gathering. 

3 cups plain flour

3 tbsp fresh rosemary -whizzed up in a grinder or chopped super fine

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup rice milk

2 tsp grated lemon zest, chopped

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup canola oil

 

Icing

1 cup confectioners/powdered sugar

@ 2 tbsp lemon juice, until soupy.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix all of the dry ingredients into a bowl, including the rosemary. Pour in the olive oil and rice milk and beat into the dry ingredients. Add the canola oil and stir until it's thoroughly mixed. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix those in too. You can do it with out without an electric mixer.

 

Grease your cake pan with some cooking spray or oil, and pour in the batter (I use a spring form pan). For extra easy removal, I put in a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom. It's thick, so bake for 35-40 minutes or until it's browned on top. Stick a knife or toothpick in and when it comes out clean, it's done!

 

 

 

 

For the icing, add lemon juice a little bit at a time to your powdered sugar until its shiny, smooth, and thinly glaze-like. 

 

 

And that's that! It's one of the tastiest cakes I make, and coming from someone who doesn't waste their time if it isn't chocolate, that's saying something!

 

 

 

*It is also really good for breakfast. 

What? you don't eat cake for breakfast??

Bon appetite! Let me know how YOURS comes out. 

Drop us a line or pop us a photo, we'd love to see it!

xo Melanie