News

Yid.Dish: Happy Early Mother’s Day (Chocolate Cake)

Image by JCarrot

By Leah Koenig May 6, 2008

Several months ago, The Jew & The Carrot featured the recipe for my mom’s amazing chocolate cake – the one that my brother and I begged for every birthday – mostly for the thrill of eating sweet, homemade frosting directly off the beaters.

Then yesterday, a reader sent me the following email:

“Long ago you posted a recipe for your mom’s chocolate cake. Finally I got around to making it for Shabbat dinner this past week. Since I’m really into my new camera and having lots of fun taking food pics, I thought I’d share the image. I used real roses and borage [to decorate it] too. Everyone loved the cake-the recipe is a keeper.” – Emily

With Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday, I figured now is the perfect time to share this delicious cake once again. Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Carol Koenig’s “Moistest Chocolate Cake”

I used to love my birthday cakes decorated with roses made from the frosting below, colored with a little red food coloring. These days, I’d probably use a drop or two of beet juice to achieve that perfect pink color.

Cake:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

¾ cup cocoa

1 tsp real vanilla

2 cups raw sugar

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 cup organic milk

2 eggs (free range, of course)

1 cup hot coffee (I actually recommend instant stir-in coffee for this recipe. Save the good-quality strong stuff in your pantry for breakfast.)

Combine dry ingredients. Add oil, hot coffee and milk. Mix at a medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat 2 minutes more. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13 or layer cake pan. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degree.

Frosting

1/2 lb powdered sugar

2-3 tbsp milk

1 ½ heaping tsp soft butter

1 tsp vanilla

Beat with mixer 3-5 minutes. If too thick, add milk, a smidge at a time. Variation: add 2 tbsp cocoa for chocolate frosting.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO