Image by JCarrot

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.

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