or a small bottle of a specialty vinegar…
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No bake protein brownies (with no added protein powder).
I know, I know. It looks like dog shit.
But trust me it tastes much better than dog shit I think. Having never tasted dog shit of course.
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No. I was just that out of it… 
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Well, a bunch of stuff from mom’s condo arrived Saturday, including a BUNCH of various baking pans and equipment. So, with my very first time using those fancy ‘bottom pops out’ Mirro cake pans, a cardboard cake round, and a lazy susan cake stand.
The recipe was just the ‘Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake’ and accompany ing frosting from the back of a Hershey’s Cocoa box, (though I used Girardelli Dutch process)
He has a hat!!
My decoration skills are… rudimentary at best but not bad for a first attempt at a layer cake.
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I spy SpaghettiOs!
You betcha. Right out of the can, too. Don’t need to heat em u or nuthin’!
I’d pat myself on the back and call it perfect?
How was the taste?
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The taste is everything you want in a basic hard-to-screw-up chocolate cake. I like the hot water aspect that blooms the cococa to great effect.
I would like to graduate to something more than basic dump cakes, and try a ganache or pudding/custard filling.
I also want to see if I can get even moderately competent at piping, as a pastry bag and full.set of tips were another bit of bonus kit.
To say nothing of the tube and decorative Bundt pans.
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And yet, a hard-to-screw-up chocolate dump cake is a great tool to have in one’s arsenal. Looks good!
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Some pan release spray and a recipe for two layers worth of cake and one of those bundt pans, et voila!
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How does this cake differ from Ina’s?
Next time try Valrhona cocoa, my favorite.
If by Ina’s, you mean Beatty’s chocolate cake, that is the Hershey’s Black Magic cake, exactly. The “perfectly chocolate” cake uses boiling water and plain milk rather than coffee and buttermilk.
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Yes, I couldn’t think of Beatty’s … which one do you prefer?
Of the two, I’ve only made the Black Magic, but I tend to think that both coffee and buttermilk do good things for chocolate cakes, so I lean that way. I know there are others who prefer the other cake.
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I like the Perfectly Chocolate cake made with coffee instead of water - IMO best of both worlds. I don’t love the tang of buttermilk with chocolate, that’s my only beef with the Black Magic cake.
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That Hershey’s Cake is great.
It is very hard to make a Chocolate Cake that really tastes of Chocolate, has a nice Crumb, is and stays Moist(thank you Oil), this Cake really hits that Mark.
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Rhubarb pie, from The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie.
I mentioned on another thread how appealing I find this book. This is my first bake from it, and I’m using it as impetus to try some new-to-me (yet traditional) pie-baking techniques (all-butter crust, adding vinegar to the crust, use of crust dust, use of milk-wash in lieu of egg wash).
I followed the recipe closely. My only modifications included halving the recipe to make a 7” pie, using champagne vinegar instead of red wine vinegar in the crust, and (as the pie is so small) cutting the rhubarb smaller than called for. My usual MO would be to start with a hot oven, and then reduce the temperature, but here I went with the recipe, which calls for a steady 400 degrees. I did preheat a baking stone and sheet pan, however, and covered the rim at the 20-minute mark.
Only after sealing and chilling the pie did I notice I missed my final lattice fold. The author actually offers a cheater’s version of a lattice crust which involves weaving just half the crust, and faking the rest, so I don’t feel too bad about that last bit.
It is a delicious pie. Not having made (nor eaten) a rhubarb pie before, I don’t have any comparison, but technically the pie came out great – flaky crust, tart-sweet filling, no soggy bottom (in fact, a very flaky and finger-scratch-worthy bottom). If anything, I found the crust to be a little smaller than I’m used to (305 grams for what is technically a full-size, single pie crust). I think going forward I would increase the dough by 10%, just to give myself a little more wiggle room when sealing the pie (as well as little more crust on which to gnosh).
A question for those who have a favorite rhubarb pie recipe: I didn’t find anything lacking, but would a little unsalted butter and/or boozy element enhance the filling?
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Perfect
I can almost taste it!
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I’ve also made that pie and my only addition was a little lime zest and a squeeze of the juice from the lime. It’s a lovely book , the oatmeal pie is a winner, btw. Also, the Hoosier sugar Cream pie, made versions of that three times.
Your pie looks wonderful!
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What is in the filling in this recipe? My classic rhubarb pie recipe filling is just rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, flour, pinch of salt, and butter (dotted on top of fruit. I don’t think booze would hurt. I wouldn’t leave out the butter, but I wouldn’t leave butter out of any fruit pie thickened with flour.
