Today I Baked a Cake *edited w/recipe*

I worked from home today since the girls were out of school. I had originally planned a vacation day but my boss told me to work from home. I don’t know if he actually meant "work from home" (wink, wink) but I had plenty of work to do so I worked. I took a break at lunchtime and took the girls to the mall to shop for David’s birthday present (his birthday is today).

I also took a break and baked him a cake. From scratch. That is a pretty rare occurrence. So rare, that when I noticed this label on the baking powder:

I figured I’d better check it out:

Jan 2 98, huh? That baking powder has been with me since before Courtney. It’s moved with me at least 4 times and been with me in 3 different states. I felt a little bad throwing it in the trash.

That got me wondering about the baking soda:

Well, at least it’s from this decade.

The cake turned out great. But I believe I’ll restock on baking supplies anyway – I may bake another cake in a couple of years.

Here is a picture of (half) the cake. It said "happy Dad." Because once I wrote "happy" there was no way "birthday" was going to fit, so we improvised. The green frosting is the kind you buy in a can that comes with its own decorating tips.

Chocolate-Sour Cream Cake
(Feb 2008 issue of Better Homes & Gardens)

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c shortening
1 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 8 oz carton sour cream
1 cup milk
1 recipe Fudgy Frosting (below)

Preparation:
1. Let eggs stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Set aside.
2. In small bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl beat shortening and sugar on medium speed until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in melted chocolate and sour cream. Alternately add flour mixture and milk; beat on low after each addition just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pans.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool.
4. Prepare Fudgy Frosting (below). Place one layer flat side down on plate. Spread top with 1 cup frosting. Stack second layer flat side down. Spread with remaining frosting. Serves 16. Each serving: 555 cal, 27 g fat (do you need to know any more?!)

Fudgy Frosting:
In large pan over low heat melt and stir one 12 oz package semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butter. Cool 10 minutes. Stir in 8 oz carton sour cream. Stir in 4 1/2 cups (1 pound) sifted powdered sugar; stir until smooth. Makes 4 cups.

It made a ton of frosting. We made graham cracker cookies with the leftover (spread frosting between 2 graham crackers – something my grandma used to do) and used nearly a package of graham crackers.

It was good. Rich. The magazine says: "Sturdy, dense, and loaded with chocolate, this is the cake you dream about with a glass of milk."