Growing up, birthdays were a pretty big deal. We may not have had a lot of money, but there were always decorations and brightly decorated gifts. And no matter the number, we were sure to share a delicious cake with family and friends. The cakes were always made from scratch, usually chocolate, and more oft than not, a complete surprise. You see, we had to wait for the big unveil to find what the cake might be—anything from roses to a three ring circus.

But sometime in my teen years, mom made the mistake of making the mocha cake of angels, now she shant to able to turn back. Balloons and gifts may come and go, but the cake must remain.

I wish I could share a piece of that cake with you, now; I will, however, share the recipe. You can make it completely from scratch, or take advantage of ready-made ingredients; you can bake a full sized cake to share with friends, or buy a cake to savor it all yourself. 

So thank you, mom–for all the cakes you baked and decorated just for me . . . and the little taste of heaven, you passed along to us all . . .

Mocha Angel Food Cake

Ingredients

• 1 10-inch angel food cake, cooled
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 1 (3 3/4 oz.) package chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 2 Heath candy bars, crushed

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, blend pudding mix, coffee, and milk. Chill.
2. Beat pudding mixture until smooth; fold in half of the whipping cream.
3. Cut cake in thirds, horizontally; place the bottom layer on a serving plate and
   spread a third of the pudding mixture. Repeat.
4. Fold remaining whipped topping into the remaining pudding mixture; spread over top
   and sides of cake. Sprinkle with crushed candy bars.
5. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Download the pdf: Mocha Angel Food Cake recipe {maybe, if I can ever get it to work}

Then they had to go and introduce their Raspberry Chocolate Fruit Thins …

You see, I’m in desperate need of losing 20 pounds. Oh right, you say, weight loss and chocolate cookies, naturally. But there’s a method to my madness. Mainly, the word “diet” makes me instantly famished. I pity the fool who would even attempt to place me on an enforced diet regimen. No doubt I would gnaw her arm off, just to get to an all-you-can-eat-buffet.

It’s serious business, my friends.

And in keeping to the “No Diet” zone, I must have my chocolate. With that in mind, I’ve been conducting research . {I wonder if there’s a government grant for such important work?} I’m set to find a chocolate option that will keep me from falling off the edge.

I’m not sure the Fruit Thins are it. They’re chocolate, sure; and they’re thin. But they’re also sure to contain some addictive chemical–eat one and you’re liable to eat the whole bag.

Of course, I could always just do something crazy like, you know, move more. I haven’t worked out all the particulars yet, but I’m thinkin’ …

I’d like to begin this post by saying I’m fully aware that I’m a bad influence.  If it’s any consolation I promise to look for healthy alternatives … certainly I have one or two around here somewhere.  Not to mention, the temperatures are bound to perk up. Before long, it will be much too warm to wear the types of clothing that so nicely cover up my culinary indescretions.  Until then…

This cherry-chocolate cake is positively divine.  It came from Mable Hoffman’s Chocolate Cookery(still available from Amazon, by the way), which is full of all kinds of chocolaty goodness.  Sure, the design is all 70′s, all the time, but the recipes–oh, the recipes!

Being Valentine’s and all, I opted for the Cherry-chocolate cake.  As you can see from the photo, above, I used my mini hearts pan, rather than 2 9-inch pans.  Since I had issues with throwing massive amounts of batter down the disposal, I filled them a bit too far–resulting in a wee cake  resembling more of a blob, than a heart.  Though oddly appropritate for my love life, it was not the most fetching.  Luckily, taste more than won out.   *whimper*

Oh, and in case you’re curious, shortening scares me–so I used real, unsalted butter.  Also, I forgot to pick up more powdered sugar on my second grocery run … so when it came to frosting, I added whatever I had … which was maybe a cup.  So.  There you have it.  And now, you have the recipe, too …

From Mable Hoffman’s Chocolate Cookery

H.P. Books, 1978

Ingredients:

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup shortening

¾ cup milk

¼ cup maraschino cherry juice

2 eggs

½ cup maraschino cherries, chopped

Red food color, several drops

Chocolate-cherry frosting (below)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 360° F (175° C); grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
2. Melt chocolate; set aside. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
4. Make a hole in the middle of the dry mixture and add shortening, milk, cherry juice and eggs. 
5. Beat on low until well blended; then beat on medium for an additional 2 minutes. 
6. Add melted chocolate, cherries and food coloring; beat another minute. 
7. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean. 
8. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; turn out on wire racks and cool completely. 
9. Frost with chocolate-cherry deliciousness, as follows…

Ingredients:

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate

½ cup butter

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

¼ cup maraschino cherry juice

½ cup maraschino cherries, chopped

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate; set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter.
3. Add powdered sugar and cherry juice; beat until smooth.
4. Fold in chocolate and cherries. 

Cherry chocolate cake pdf

Case in point: Chocolate Cupcakes Stuffed with Strawberry Chocolate Ganache and Frosted with Chocolate Glaze and Buttercream. 

I did make a few changes:

1) I prefer Dutch cocoa because it’s the epitome of chocolaty goodness.  However, if the recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa you’re suppose to add a bit of vegetable oil—and there’s a slight possibility that will make them fall a bit. 

2)  Since chocolate and strawberries always seem a bit lonely without a hint of cinnamon, I added some. 

Oh, and I made 12 rather than 8—thanks to a lapse in counting ability. This means my poor little cupcakes were pitifully sunken.  To make up for my guffaw, I simply filled the crater with strawberry chocolate ganache, threw the chocolate glaze down the disposal, and topped the wee cakes with a swirl of buttercream. 

A little taste of heaven, right in a cupcake liner. 

But do take heed: eat more than one and your libel to slip into a sugar coma.    

Still, I think they’d be perfect on an autumn evening, accompanied by large cups of coffee or tea, and the company of friends …

{Chuckling, myriad photos, and still she smiles}

Her husband and boys hit the road; us girls took over.  And it all began with these…

{bea-u-tiful place mats; click here and I'll direct you...}

“These,” my friends, are Mandi’s famous vanilla scones. They’re so good you just might shed a tear.  Add a mug of fresh brewed coffee and you’ll be hard pressed to imagine anything better. She lured us away from such delectable delights, with fresh ingredients, all chopped and ready to be made into Wild Mushroom Risotto …

{shiitake mushrooms--otherwise known as fungus--and carrots}

{Arborio, or short grained, rice and onions}

{fresh thyme, Parmesan, and garlic}

As Mandi walked us through the recipe, we chatted tips and tricks {remember, the moment you chop an onion, is the moment it would behoove you to be a mouth-breather} … the merit of real butter … and the importance of enjoying your food.  Before we knew it, we were sampling the warm, creamy goodness–and wondering if maybe, just maybe, making your own chicken stock might be worth the effort…

{chicken stock, olive oil, and dry white wine for that hint of cream}

As if it weren’t sweet enough, Mandi topped it off with Pots de Creme–a divine concoction of chocolate chips, butter, and warm milk, topped with fresh whipped cream. It was a little piece of heaven right there in the glass… 

{sadly, the one thing guaranteed to be made again}

In the end, we came away with new recipes, maybe even a new technique or two.  It was the perfect way to start a weekend … with women of all ages, from various backgrounds, sitting around a table talking, laughing and yes, enjoying our food. 

I guess you might say we also came away with a tangible reminder of why we make such food–that it’s not simply to feed our bodies, but to nurture our souls…

It’s cold … so very, very cold.  Although, this morning is a bit of a heat wave.  Yesterday morning was -6F, this morning, it’s a whopping 1 degree.  For those of you basking in warm climates, here’s how it goes down:  First of all, you go outside and your nose instantly freezes together.  It’s unnerving to say the least.  Your fingers and toes go through stages:  first, the painful stage.  This is where it feels as though someone is stabbing you with an ice pick or something.  The second stage is a bit of a dull ache … then blessed numbness.  This all takes awhile mind you.   And your legs seem to freeze on contact.  One minute you’re young and spry, the next minute your legs are stiff as a pole and you’re looking around for a cane. 

For those of you who reside in colder climates, I’m so, so sorry. 

I said all this to say, I had to be out in such weather early this morning.  Since it took approximately an hour to chisel the ice off my car windows I decided to reward myself with (what else) McDonald’s.  AND, since the orange juice machine was on the fritz, I ordered the next best thing: hot cocoa.  Have you tried the McCafe hot chocolate?  Oh my.  This may sound sacrilege, but I haven’t had hot cocoa that good since I was visiting Denmark.  Creamy, chocolaty goodness in a cup.  Sigh. 

It almost made the frigid temps worthwhile.  Almost.

I could never be a criminal.  I possess a guilty-conscious of robust proportions.  To give you a clue…

Tonight is the last night of Photovoltaic training.  In the slight chance you may not be aware – I’m writing an installation manual for my dad.  This “little” project has been going on approximately forever.  The first draft was printed and distributed to this first class.  I then attended the first few weeks of the class to see what information the guys were most interested in, take notes, learn where we were lacking, etc. - I have since been working on edits.  And there are a lot of them. 

This is normal mind you.  Most books go through several revisions.  I’m on number two.  As it is, my dad insists the content is better than most.  Most of my edits are small, formatting issues.  Still, I can’t take it.  I’m wracked with guilt!  

So I did what any rational, business-minded woman would do – I whipped up a fresh batch of brownies and sent them with my dad.  So, your version of the manual sucks … hmmm… brownie?!

You know what they say, third time’s a charm.  But what happens when it’s not so much?  What happens when everything you put your hand to fails; when friends and family begin to question your ability?  I mean, let’s be serious.  After awhile it gets a bit embarrassing.  Not to mention discouraging.  Do you give up? 

Not Milton Hershey.  Milton S. Hershey forged ahead.  He may have been nearing thirty, and nearly bankrupt, but that didn’t stop him.  With four losses under his belt, he tried once more for a win.  Returning to Lancaster, he opened the Lancaster Caramel Company.  This time he struck gold.  His fifth business was so successful, in 1900 he was able to sell it for a whopping one-million dollars.  All so he could focus on his true passion – chocolate.  Three years later he returned to the place of his birth to open a new chocolate factory.  And the rest, as they say, is history …

So next time we go to drown our defeat in a large vat of Hershey’s chocolate, let us think of the man behind the bar.  A man who refused to let his dream die, despite one setback after another.  A  man who learned from trial and error so that every man might be able to enjoy the smooth, creamy goodness of milk chocolate.  A man who used his wealth to build a thriving town, all because he believed his employees deserved better.  A man who thought up the “Great building compaign” to add beauty – and countless jobs – during The Great Depression.  A man who, though no children of his own, left an ever-growing legacy through schools and educational grants.  A man who proves to us still today, that hard work and perseverance have a funny way of turning life’s bitter disappointments to sweet success.