Get Started With Home Baking - Chocolate Snack Cake Recipe
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One of your New Year resolutions may be to eat at home more, but your cooking experience and skills may not be what you would like. Baking at home can help you save money, eat healthier because you control the ingredients, and provide a chance to experiment and tweak recipes to suit your situation.
By starting out with something that is easy, you can learn by cooking, and you get to eat the tasty results. If cake is a family favorite, learning to bake a simple snack cake can be a good place to start (recipe follows).
Any cake that is made as one layer can be considered a snack cake.
Simple cakes are handy to make for after-school treats, sack lunches and for casual parties or dinners. The techniques are simple, and the ingredients list is relatively short, using mostly standard pantry items. Snack cakes can usually be made ahead to help smooth out event planning.
Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe
This chocolate cake and frosting have become a family favorite since I first made it about 40 years ago.
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 T. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1 c. granulated white sugar
5 T. vegetable oil (such as canola)
1 T. white vinegar
1 t. real vanilla extract
1 c. cold water
Grease and flour a 9 by 9 inch square cake pan. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl (or in the pan), the wet ingredients in another bowl, and stir them together until well mixed. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
Richmond Chocolate Frosting
1/2 c. granulated white sugar
1 1/2 T. cornstarch
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, grated or chopped
1/2 c. boiling water
Dash of salt
While water is boiling in a tea kettle, mix remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Add water to this dry mixture and cook until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and add:
1 1/2 T. butter
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Stir until mixed. Makes enough frosting for cake in a 9 by 9 inch square pan. Frosting can be spread on cake while still warm. A glossy frosting that stays soft.
Once you have baked a few recipes, you will be better able to evaluate each new recipe you are considering, and decide whether it is something you want to make.
There are plenty of online recipe sites and videos available to help you get comfortable before you ever go into the kitchen. Gain experience by starting with a simple recipe and those resources will help you become an accomplished home cook.
How to serve snack cake
Use your salad or dessert plates. Any plate that is in the 7 to 9 inch range works well, depending on the size of your cake slices, and whether you will serve it with ice cream or not.
Plan to add ice cream for birthday parties, showers and similar events. A coupe shape plate (smooth with slightly raised sides), or even a shallow soup bowl, works well to keep any melted ice cream on the dish.
Dress up this cake for a more formal event by cutting the pieces smaller and serving on fine china bread plates in the 4.5 to 6 inch diameter range. An edible flower or small decoration in the frosting (perhaps one that picks up the colors or motif of the china) adds a special touch for a tea party or shower.
Snack cakes are easy to whip up anytime for a quick dessert. Learning to bake can be even more fun when you enjoy the delicious results along with family and friends.
By starting out with something that is easy, you can learn by cooking, and you get to eat the tasty results. If cake is a family favorite, learning to bake a simple snack cake can be a good place to start (recipe follows).
Any cake that is made as one layer can be considered a snack cake.
Simple cakes are handy to make for after-school treats, sack lunches and for casual parties or dinners. The techniques are simple, and the ingredients list is relatively short, using mostly standard pantry items. Snack cakes can usually be made ahead to help smooth out event planning.
Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe
This chocolate cake and frosting have become a family favorite since I first made it about 40 years ago.
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 T. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1 c. granulated white sugar
5 T. vegetable oil (such as canola)
1 T. white vinegar
1 t. real vanilla extract
1 c. cold water
Grease and flour a 9 by 9 inch square cake pan. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl (or in the pan), the wet ingredients in another bowl, and stir them together until well mixed. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
Richmond Chocolate Frosting
1/2 c. granulated white sugar
1 1/2 T. cornstarch
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, grated or chopped
1/2 c. boiling water
Dash of salt
While water is boiling in a tea kettle, mix remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Add water to this dry mixture and cook until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and add:
1 1/2 T. butter
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Stir until mixed. Makes enough frosting for cake in a 9 by 9 inch square pan. Frosting can be spread on cake while still warm. A glossy frosting that stays soft.
Once you have baked a few recipes, you will be better able to evaluate each new recipe you are considering, and decide whether it is something you want to make.
There are plenty of online recipe sites and videos available to help you get comfortable before you ever go into the kitchen. Gain experience by starting with a simple recipe and those resources will help you become an accomplished home cook.
How to serve snack cake
Use your salad or dessert plates. Any plate that is in the 7 to 9 inch range works well, depending on the size of your cake slices, and whether you will serve it with ice cream or not.
Plan to add ice cream for birthday parties, showers and similar events. A coupe shape plate (smooth with slightly raised sides), or even a shallow soup bowl, works well to keep any melted ice cream on the dish.
Dress up this cake for a more formal event by cutting the pieces smaller and serving on fine china bread plates in the 4.5 to 6 inch diameter range. An edible flower or small decoration in the frosting (perhaps one that picks up the colors or motif of the china) adds a special touch for a tea party or shower.
Snack cakes are easy to whip up anytime for a quick dessert. Learning to bake can be even more fun when you enjoy the delicious results along with family and friends.
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