Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

** Don't forget to enter my happy-1st-birthday giveaway! **

There's a good chance Grandma or Grandpa baked you this cake when you were little. It's a depression-era cake with some massive staying power! Eggs & butter were hard to come by back then (they were rationed) so rather than wasting them in a cake (in my book that is the best use of eggs!! LOL) the smart little homemakers back then discovered mayonnaise as a substitute. It makes perfect sense - it's made with oil & eggs so it replaces them very well. This is a super dense, moist & wonderful cake! Hands down my husband's favorite. I can tell you're still skeptical - chocolate & mayonnaise... together!!? YES! I promise, You. Will. Love. It!

Here are your ingredients:


Baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, mayonnaise, sugar, flour, vanilla & water.

First mix together all of your dry ingredients.


Then plop in all your mayo. I know - it looks like a lot. Just trust me!


Give it a good mixing & get it all incorporated. Slowly add in the water & vanilla.


Hey! Look! It's starting to look like cake batter!!

Pout it into a prepped pan & bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.


Let it cool completely & then frost it with your favorite chocolate frosting. As I've mentioned before, I LOVE the one on the canister of Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder.

Tada!!


I totally spaced it on taking a picture of the cake all prettied up with candles on top! LOL Woops! But this way you get to see inside! Yum! Seriously. YUM.

I really hope you'll give it a try! You will love it.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake:

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add in mayonnaise & combine well. Gradually stir in water & vanilla & blend until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Cool completely before frosting with your favorite chocolate frosting.

Cake Balls

It's Halloween Party season at school! And for the over-achieving mom that means more time in the kitchen coming up with great homemade treats for them to bring in to class. And this leads me to a gripe.... it makes me sad each & every year when I bring goodies to the Halloween/Christmas/Valentine's/Birthday parties and I am the ONLY one with something homemade (I know some schools only allow store-bought things - ours is not one of them). It just makes me sad that people don't have that extra hour for their kids. Or do they - but they're just addicted to the convenience of the Walmart cupcakes with 3 inches of frosting that is so full of dye that it changes the color of your... um... you know... stuff. Whatever the case, in the 15+ times that I have brought goodies in I'm always the lone scratch goodies. C'mon, folks! Give your kids some love! Go homemade this year - even if it's just a pan of boxed brownies!!

Well, this year I decided to go with cake balls for Nolan - and not just plain cake balls.... EYE BALLS! Ewwwww. What 5 year old wouldn't love to crunch into one of these!!??

Grab some of this:


A box of cake mix (to make a 9x13), a tub of frosting (16oz) and a pack of almond bark.

The flavor combinations you go with are totally up to you. I've done chocolate cake with chocolate frosting & chocolate almond bark & they are really good! Like think Ho-Ho or Ding Dong. Good.

Step 1: Bake the cake, according to the package directions.


Let it cool & then *gasp* break it into pieces & crumble it in a bowl. I always feel like I'm doing something criminal for this part! Add in the frosting & combine it well.


You can mix it several ways - wooden spoon, mush it in a ziplock bag, use your hands in a bowl or, like I do, with a pastry blender!


Roll them into balls. Your hands will get messy - just rinse them every 10 balls or so. And be sure you don't go too big. I though bigger would be better - it's not. Last time I measured them out with my 2 Tbsp cookie scoop but they were just too big. Bite-sized is better so, if you use a cookie scoop, go with the one Tbsp one.


Pop them into the freezer for an hour or so. If you don't they'll fall apart in the almond bark.

Melt the almond bark according to the package directions & dip the balls, one at a time. And only take like 8 balls out of the freezer at a time. Once they're dipped they can just sit on the counter in an air-tight container, but when you're dipping you want them pretty solid. Pick whatever dipping method works for you - I've done 2 forks & also toothpicks. Either is fine. Just dip & tap the excess off against the side of the bowl.


Dip & tap!


And now, because I'm making eyeballs... decorate!


And with the red velvet inside, a bite will reveal the red, bloody guts of the eyeballs! Ewwww. I mean YUM!!!! LOL

(My camera's just a little pocket-sized point & shoot so I have a hard time getting good focus. Darn it.)

I hope you'll try 'em! Play with the flavors & make your own! They're really good. And addicting. And easy (they just take a little while from start to finish!)

Cake Pops:

1 box cake mix (9x13)
1 tub frosting (16oz)
1 pkg almond bark

Bake the cake. Let it cool completely. Crumble cake into a large bowl. Add frosting & combine thoroughly. Shape into small balls - no bigger that a large marble. Freeze for about an hour.

Melt almond bark according to instructions. Dip balls, one at a time, working in small batches. Set dipped balls on wax paper to set up. Store on the counter in an air-tight container.

Happy Birthday, Nolan!

My little Nolan turned FIVE back on the 1st of July & we finally had his big friend-party this afternoon. His request? Perry the Platypus! He's a character on the cartoon Phineas & Ferb. He's an unassuming pet platypus that doubles as a secret agent - Agent P!

Here's the cake - in Agent P mode:

Not perfect but enough to put a smile on my BIG BOY's face!

I love you, NOlan! YOu are such a happy ray of sunshine. You have a smile & a personality that makes everyone want to hug you! You have such an expressive face & make some of the most adorable furled brow / wide eyed / confused / mischievous / excited / joyful faces. I love you so so so much, Noley!! Hope you enjoyed your party.

Happy Birthday, Luke!

I'm much too frugal to pay for an over-priced, under-flavored store-bought birthday cake, so I always make them at home (often to my kids' dismay!) They beg & plead for the cakes they find in those laminated catalog pages at the bakeries - loaded with plastic figurines of their favorite characters. However, by the time I've taken the characters & put my own Mommy Magic on it, the end result always leaves a smile on the kids' faces. :o) This is the cake we enjoyed at Luke's 7th birthday party this weekend.


I love you so much, Luke! Thanks for making me a mom. I cannot believe you are already SEVEN! It has been a pleasure to watch you learn & grow & become such an amazing young man!