Everytime that Ferdinand has a birthday party to go to he says to me “mom, today is my birthday, what kind of cake should we make.” He knows when his birthday is, but he’ll do anything he can for a birthday cake he can call his own. I feel so sick right now, because of course I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, M&M’s, sprinkles, and whipped cream. We both licked the bowl of the cake, and then the frosting, and then the whipped cream, and then we sang Happy Birthday and a couple pieces of cake. Then we went to the real party, had more cake, came home, and I don’t know about you, but if there’s chocolate cake in my refrigerator, I’m going to eat some. It has nothing to do with how much cake I have already had that day. There is something about coming back into the house after having been away; the cake takes on a whole new irresistable appeal.
There is a recipe on the back of the box of Hershey’s cocoa every once in a while that I love. You don’t have to wait for the butter to soften and there are no eggs. The trick is, don’t use Hershey’s. Use the best european cocoa you can find, and the cake will be to die for. It’s one and a quarter cups of sifted flour, a third of a cup of cocoa, half a teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of baking soda, and you sift all of that together. In another bowl, mix together one cup of sugar, six Tablespoons of vegetable oil, half a teaspoon of vanilla, half of cup of sour cream (or yogurt or strong coffee) and half of a cup of milk. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together just until they are mixed, and bake in a greased 8″ pan at 350 for about twenty five minutes, or until the top springs back when you touch it. Serve with barely whipped cream.
Forget the frosting. It will just give you a stomach ache.