Chocolate and other food groups

I know, you already have a lot of recipes for chocolate cake. Why keep another one? Because it's good, that's why! And because sometime you have the ingredients for one, sometimes for another, and maybe you want a certain texture. I'd call this a basic chocolate cake, not especially dense, not especially light, and well suited for cupcakes, layer cakes, or sheet cakes. HERSHEY'S DISAPPEARING CAKE 1/4 c. butter 1/4 c. shortening 2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 eggs 3/4 c. cocoa 1 3/4 c. flour 3/4 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1/8 tsp. salt 1 3/4 c. milk Cream butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla until fluffy; blend in eggs. Combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add alternately with milk to batter. Blend well. Pour into two greased and floured 9" pans. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove from pan and cool completely before frosting. For cupcakes, cook about 25 minutes. Yum all around.

I made this for book club last night, and I thought it turned out really well. It's from an old ward cookbook and comes courtesy of Lacy and her mom Linda. Mandarin Orange Cake 1 vanilla or white cake mix 3/4 c. vegetable oil 4 eggs 11 oz. can mandarin oranges with juice Combine ingredients and mix according to cake mix directions. Pour into greased 9X13 pan and bake until done. Cool thoroughly and top with pineapple topping. Pineapple topping: 1 9oz. carton Cool Whip, thawed 1 3oz. box vanilla instant pudding (I substituted banana cream, and it was yummy) 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, slightly drained Combine pudding mix, pineapple, and just a little juice. Fold in thawed Cool Whip. Spread on top of cake and store in refrigerator over night.

We always eat the same sort of menu on Christmas morning - fruit, fresh from stockings; little sausages, some browned and some wrapped up for pigs in a blanket; juice; and a bread of some sort. This year, the kids asked for a coffee cake. But I didn't want to take time to throw together a coffee cake when I could be with the family. So I found this recipe and put it together the night before. Then all I had to do was preheat the oven, wait the oven was ready, and pop this in. And it tasted great too. Overnight Coffee Cake Coffee Cake: 1 c. flour 1/4 c. sugar 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 c. buttermilk 1/3 c. shortening 1 egg Topping: 1/4 c. brown sugar 1/4 c. chopped nuts or oats 1/4 c. nutmeg Grease and flour 9 inch round or 8 inch square pan. In small bowl, combine all coffee cake ingredients; stir until moistened. Pour batter into greased and floured pan. In another small bowl, combine all topping ingredients. Sprinkle over batter...

From the book "101 More Things to do with a Cake Mix." True Love Coffee Cake 1 c. milk 1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp. yeast 1 yellow or white cake mix 3 eggs 1/2 c. oil 1/2 c. applesauce Preheat oven to 350. Warm milk in microwave for 35-45 seconds. Mix yeast with warm milk. Stir in cake mix. Mix in eggs, oil, and applesauce. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan and set aside. For topping, combine 3/4 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. flour, and 1/4 c. butter, softened. Mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake 25-35 minutes. Serve warm.

Sarah made this one recently from scratch. It turned out great! She's definitely got my baking genes. Devil's Food Cake 3/4 c. butter, softened 1 1/2 c. sugar 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 eggs 1 3/4 c. flour 1/2 c. cocoa 1 tsp. soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 c. buttermilk 1/2 c. boiling water Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add alternately with buttermilk to creamed mixture. Add  boiling water; beat until smooth. Pour into greased and floured 13 x 9 pan or two 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes (slightly less time for rounds) or until tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before frosting. Enjoy! And a couple of tips: Need buttermilk for a recipe, but don't have any? Make your own sour milk. For each cup of buttermilk, substitute by adding 1 Tb. vinegar to regular milk. Let mixture set for about 5 minutes before add...

Very easy and yummy, but it doesn't keep well. Golden Layer Cake 1 pkg. frozen pound cake, thawed 1/3 c. juice and 1/2 tsp. almond extract  20 oz. can crushed pineapple 8 oz. carton Cool Whip, thawed 3 oz. pkg. vanilla pudding 1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted Cut cake lengthwise in thirds. Drizzle with juice. Combine pineapple, Cool Whip, and pudding in medium bowl until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread one third filling over bottom layer of cake. Top with second layer. Repeat layering, ending with pudding. Sprinkle with almonds. Serves 10. Refrigerate leftovers.

This one was given to me by my Great Aunt Goldie Drorbaugh.  Oatmeal Cake Pour 1 1/4 c. boiling water over 1 c. oats and 1 stick (1/2 c.) butter. Let stand 20 minutes. Beat 1 c. brown sugar, 1 c. white sugar with 2 eggs. Sift 1 1/4 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and add to sugar/egg mixture. Mix this with oat mixture and add 1 tsp. vanilla. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Topping: 1/2 c. butter 1 c. coconut 1/4 c. cream (or evaporated milk) 1 c. nuts 1 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Mix these together and put on cake. Return cake to oven for 5 minutes.

I made this for Easter this year and tinkered around with the ingredients. It turned out super yummy, but I don't have a picture. I need to do better about taking pictures of my recipes. Creamy Citrus Cake 1 c. boiling water 1 4 oz. box gelatin, orange or lemon 1 box white cake mix 3/4 c. thawed orange juice concentrate 1/3 c. oil 1/4 c. water 4 egg whites (or 2 whole eggs) 1 container (12 oz) whipped frosting 1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed Heat oven to 350. Spray bottom only of 13 x 9 pan. In small bowl, combine boiling water and gelatin and stir until dissolved. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes. In large bowl, combine cake mix, 1/4 c. gelatin mixture, 1/4 c. orange juice concentrate, oil, water,  and egg white at low for about 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Reserve remaining juice concentrate and gelatin. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Poke warm cake every inch or so with a fork. Reserve 1 Tb. gelatin mixture and set aside. Combine remaining ...

Cranberry Cardamom Cake 3 c. flour 2 c. sugar 1 ts. ground cardamom 1 1/2 ts. baking powder 1/2 ts. baking soda 1 c. milk 3/4 c. butter, melted 3 eggs 1 c. fresh or frozen cranberries Powdered sugar Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour bundt cake pan. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in large bowl. Add milk, butter, and eggs; beat at medium 2 minutes. Stir in cranberries. Spoon batter into pan. Bake 50-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. This cake has a unique and delicious flavor. Randy loves this one. It keeps well, if you have enough to keep!

Texas Sheet Cake 2 c. flour 2 c. sugar 1/2 ts. salt 2 sticks butter 1 c. water 3 Tb. cocoa 2 eggs, beaten 1 ts. soda 1/2 c. buttermilk (or use 1 1/2 Tb. vinegar plus milk to equal 1/2 c, let sit for 5 minutes before adding to recipe) 1 t. vanilla 1 t. cinnamon Combine flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. In a saucepan, heat butter, water and cocoa to boiling. Pour over dry ingredients. In another bowl combine eggs, soda, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to batter and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured jelly roll pan (15x10x1 - must have an edge). Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Start the icing the last 10 minutes while cake is baking. Icing: 1 stick butter 3 Tb. cocoa 1/2 c. milk about 2 c. powdered sugar (the recipe calls for "1 box confectioners' sugar", so I always have to guess) 1 ts. vanilla 1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional) Mix butter, cocoa, and milk in saucepan. (I always reuse the saucepan I used for the cake.) Heat just until butter melts. Remove from heat and add po...