Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake

My sister-in-laws cake w/ only powdered sugar.

All gussied up! Pretty neat, aye?
My sons 1st Birthday Cowboy cake w/ Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing.
I doubled the recipe and used the Wilton Horseshoe cake pan.

I did it again. I offered to host a celebration on a weeknight even though I am already struggling to manage my insane schedule. Why? Why do I do these things to myself? Why do I promise to bake cakes and entertain people on a Thursday night when I can barely muster up the strength to cook dinner every night for my family after a long workday? I know why. It's because deep down inside I really like entertaining and celebrating events with family. In fact, I used to go nuts planning parties and celebrations. Planning menus and decor weeks in advance was the norm for me. And then I woke up. Err.... well…and then I had a baby. Now I am lucky if we have coffee and napkins in the house for guests. And heaven forbid someone should want to drink something other than water or seltzer-HA! Like most parents, I just don't have time to be the mini-Martha I once was. Truth be told, I don't even miss the old girl. Having a baby often forces people like me to slow down, but it's a welcome change of pace. I’m glad I don't have the time to run myself as ragged as I used to. Grant it, I had more time to run around but that just meant I had more time to make myself crazy with planning. Nowadays, I still entertain (waaaay less), but it's a simpler kind of entertaining. Having kids gives nuts like me the perfect excuse to slow it down and keep it simple. When I remembered on Tuesday night that I promised to make a cake for my sister-in-laws birthday, I didn't stress. The old me would have researched a recipe way in advance and made sure I had the best Valrhona cocoa powder on hand. The new me was on solo baby duty (hubby was in Boston for Biz) and I simply was not willing or able to go crazy. But the new me had in the bag. Armed with Hershey’s cocoa powder in the pantry and my awesome go-to Quick and Easy Chocolate cake recipe, a last minute birthday cake was possible.


This recipe is one that you will want to keep on-hand for birthdays or any special occasion. I came up with this recipe after testing a gazillion chocolate cake recipes for my sons 1st Birthday party. This recipe is a delicious, quick and simple cake that you can throw together in minutes. This cake is made using canned pumpkin and oil in place of butter which makes it quite healthy. It’s so yummy it doesn ’t even need icing (and good thing because I was out of butter and cream cheese). One of my tricks for keeping it simple is skipping the icing and simply using a stencil and powdered sugar or cocoa powder to create a cute picture on top of the cake. My sister-in-law loves butterflies but go ahead and use a heart stencil for Valentines day or a turkey stencil for Thanksgiving. People will think you are a genius. if you really want an icing, a simple Chocolate Ganache rocks, just pour it right over the top. Done and done!


Happy Birthday Jessica!


P.S. Read-on for a new list of Fun Finds!


Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake
Serves 8


Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (my fave is Hershey Special Dark Cocoa Powder-delicious!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs
2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (to be honest I was out so I omitted it)


*Powdered sugar or Cocoa Powder for top of cake


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Melt chocolate in microwave until melted (each microwave is different but I had to melt mine for 45 seconds, stirring once halfway through). Cool slightly.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl. In another larger bowl, whisk eggs, egg whites, pumpkin, oil, vanilla and melted chocolate to blend. Sift dry mixture over wet mixture (if you don't have a sifter you can use a whisk to combine the two). Whisk batter until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and shake pan to smooth.

3. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer can pan to rack and cool cake completely. Release pan sides from cake. Place cake on plate.

To make cake in advance:

Allow cake to cool completely. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and store at room temperature. Dust with powder sugar or cocoa powder right before service.

FUN FINDS!

A good cake pan will take you far. Perfect for this cake as well as your fave holiday cheesecake. I Love, Love Love this non-stick 9-inch Spring Form pan by Analon.

Want a fun Cake Stand like mine? I purchased mine at Marshall's but check out theses awesome ones by Esty seller StyleGarden and at Target.

In need of a cute holiday hostess gift? How about a bouquet of adorable Holiday Silicone Spatulas. My fave is the Gingerbread man.

Banana Bread

Photo: roygbivibgyor

Before I had a child, I always thought I would be OK with being a working mama. Heck, I thought I would be running for the door. Sadly, that was not the case. In fact, my son is 14 months now and that feeling of guilt still hasn’t gone away. I feel guilty every second of every day that I am not home with my babe but believe me, I know that stay at home parents don’t have it any easier.

We all do the best we can and take it day by day because; honestly, being a parent is tough. Life is full and we need to find creative ways to maximize the time we have with our family. Evenings and weekends should be filled with kisses and cuddles but let’s face it, laundry, cleaning, shopping and shuttling all have to fall in there somewhere too! Cooking together with your family is the best way to stay connected while accomplishing a task. No matter how little your “littles” are, they can still benefit from sitting in their bouncy seat or highchair alongside you as you prep a meal. So, go ahead, use the fall weather as an excuse to spend some time indoors baking with the fam. And don’t forget to give a little time to yourself because mamas and dadas really do hold up the world.


This recipe is for my friend Danielle. She’s a stay at home mama of count ‘em, THREE BOYS! One of her sons is a huge fan of the banana bread they buy at their local Florida Farmers market. This banana bread is a quick and easy recipe to make with the family. It's also perfect for all of those upcoming holiday bake sales.

Danielle- Here’s to hoping the kiddos approve.

Banana Bread
Serves 6-8 people


1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
2-3 very ripe, darkly speckled bananas
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt



1) For regular loaf pan, grease and flour bottom only; for nonstick, grease and flour bottom and sides. Preheat oven to 350.

2)- In a large bowl whisk together sour cream and baking soda. Add in mashed bananas, cooled melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

3)-In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and salt.

4)- Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into loaf pan. Bake 55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, transfer to wire rack.

Enjoy!

TIP: To keep the bread extra moist, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil as soon as it is fully cool.



FUN KITCHEN RELATED FINDS


-Create a cooking kit like Cookie Mags "babysitter in a box". It's the the perfect way to have even the littlest of the bunch "help" with dinner.











-Vintage Inspired Aprons for the Whole Family (the ones for the kiddos shown below are fab!) by Jessie Steele

-Rachael Ray's Tadpole Young Cooks Cutting set is a great gift for your budding chef. Plus a portion of the proceeds the Tadpole will be donated to RR's charity Yum-o! to empower kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking.









-Kids Central Kitchen is an awesome site that specializes in whole grain baking mixes, fun cooking utensils, baking kits and gift sets all geared towards family fun in the kitchen. Check out these cute baking sets (fun gift for a grandma to send her babies) and the super cute happy mixing spoon.

Salami and Provolone Stuffed Beef Braciola

As much as I dislike winter (my mother always said never to use the word hate), there is something about the smells coming from my kitchen during winter months that brings back loads of great memories. Maybe it's because the smell of salad just doesn't waft through your house the way a warm pot of stew or an apple pie does. Ahhh... Heaven! Or maybe it's because so many of my greatest childhood memories are related to family meals. Whatever it is, food and memories go hand and hand in my book. Part of the reason I started this blog was because I wanted to help families eat better and help people understand that sharing meals together is so much more than good for our bodies, it's good for our souls. Even if your parents weren't great cooks, I bet you have stories to tell about how your mom burns her Thanksgiving turkey EVERY YEAR! Or how dad manages to boil the life out of any green vegetable set before him. The point is, you have those stories and those stories are priceless. And every time you smell turkey you will think of your mom and how great it was to be together, at that moment, as a family because every moment is precious.

We are all WAY too busy these days but we must remember there will never be another day like today. Please take some time to cook and eat with the ones you love. Even if it's just to burn a grilled cheese sandwich, I promise you, the laughs and the stories you will share will be some of the most delicious memories of your life.

**I dedicate this dish to my son Griffin. It reminds me of my mom and I hope someday when he's making it for his children, it will remind him of me.


Salami and Provolone Stuffed Beef Braciola
Serves 6 people

1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 c flat leaf parsley
2 large garlic cloves
1 large egg
2 lb flank steak pounded out to 1/2 inch thickness
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 lb Genoa salami, thinly sliced
1/4 lb Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
1 12 oz can of crushed tomatoes ( I use Pomi)
1 cup water
1 cup red wine
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup torn basil

1. Place 1/4 c olive oil, breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic cloves and the egg in a food processor and process until mixture looks moist and holds together slightly when you squeeze some of it in the palm of your hand.

2. Lay flank steak out on a flat surface and season with salt and pepper. Spread breadcrumb evenly mixture over meat, leaving a slight border (about 1/4inch). Layer the Salami and Provolone evenly over the bread crumb mixture. Roll up the meat tightly as if you are making a jellyroll, then secure the roll in several places with cooking twine (I usually use unflavored dental floss because I never remember to buy twine).

3. Heat remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the roll to the pot to sear. Turn the roll with tongs so it gets evenly browned on each side, about 10-12 minutes. Adjust the heat to low and add in the crushed tomatoes, water, red wine, red pepper flakes torn basil plus some extra salt and pepper (if necessary). Cover with a lid and simmer for about an hour. Place the meat on a serving platter or cutting board and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Thinly slice the meat and serve topped with sauce.

Makes great leftovers too! Enjoy!


TIPS:

-Want an even heartier dish? Drop some baby potatoes into the sauce 1/2 hour before the Braciola is cooked.

-Serve over Pasta or with Creamy Soft Polenta.

-Use leftovers for a sandwich the next day.

-Swap out the Provolone and Salami for your favorite cheese/meat combo. Prosciutto and Mozzarella are great too!