15 Minute Chocolate Cake

Disclaimer: There is absolutely nothing healthy about this post.

Yep, you read that correctly. In only 15 minutes you can have a chocolate cake in your hands (or your mouth)!! For years, my grandmother made this chocolate cake with the help of her microwave and I have recently become a little obsessed with making it. In the last couple months I have had to eat dairy free because of my little girlie and have been craving baked goods and chocolate. So this is for all of you dairy free mommies out there (and anyone else who loves chocolate).

Microwave Chocolate Cake
1/4 cup cocoa
2/3 cup hot water, divided
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola (or vegetable) oil
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla

Grease a round microwave proof dish. Line with plastic wrap. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and 1/3 cup water. Microwave on HIGH 40-50 seconds or until slightly thickened and very hot. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine well. Add 1/3 cup hot water, oil, egg, vanilla, and cocoa mix. Beat well. Pour into prepared dish.

Microwave on HIGH for 5-6 minutes until cake pulls away from sides. Moist areas may remain but will disappear upon standing. Let stand for 5-10 minutes then invert.

Top with your favorite frosting or glaze. For this cake, I sprinkled it with powdered sugar.

Cake Bake-Off

Every year there is a Catholic Community Picnic. All of the Catholic churches in the area come together to have a huge picnic full of games, dunk tanks, tug of war, tons of food, and a baking competition. One year it was chili, another pies, and this year cake. Mom and I had decided to enter this year and started planning our cake weeks ago. After much thought, we chose to create a cake based on "The Unicorn Song" by Shel Silverstein (recorded by The Irish Rovers).

A long time ago, when the Earth was green

There was more kinds of animals than you've ever seen
They'd run around free while the Earth was being born
And the loveliest of all was the unicorn

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
The loveliest of all was the unicorn

The Lord seen some sinning and it gave Him pain
And He says, "Stand back, I'm going to make it rain"
He says, "Hey Noah, I'll tell you what to do
Build me a floating zoo,
and take some of those...

Green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
Don't you forget My unicorns

Old Noah was there to answer the call
He finished up making the ark just as the rain started to fall
He marched the animals two by two
And he called out as they came through
Hey Lord,

I've got green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I'm so forlorn
I just can't find no unicorns"

And Noah looked out through the driving rain
Them unicorns were hiding, playing silly games
Kicking and splashing while the rain was falling
Oh, them silly unicorns

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Noah cried, "Close the door because the rain is falling
And we just can't wait for no unicorns"

The ark started moving, it drifted with the tide
The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried
And the waters came down and sort of floated them away
That's why you never see unicorns to this very day

You'll see green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
You're never gonna see no unicorns

Mom made all of the animals out of gumpaste while I baked all 9 of the cakes. On Saturday, we brought everything together and decorated and assembled! We used fondant to cover the ark, buttercream frosting and piping gel for the water. After all of the work we put into it, we ended up winning.

The Cake Tradition

While I was growing up, my mother was constantly decorating cakes for birthdays, holidays, and special events. I was shocked the day I realized people bought their birthday cakes at the grocery store! Now with my own family and our own special events I've started feeling a need to continue this tradition.

For Peter's baptism I was determined to begin my cake decorating adventure. I borrowed all of my mom's supplies and books and started planning. I decided not to get too complicated and only perfect one technique per cake.









I ended up with a HUGE cake since we had several people attend the party. Half of the bottom was chocolate, the other was vanilla, and the cross was red velvet.

For Nathan's birthday I decided to use a cake pan I had sitting around (Betty Crocker's Bake 'n Fill). It was a chocolate cake with cherries in the middle. It turned out great! Since it's baseball season, it was only natural I had to turn it into a baseball!