Cinnamon Chocolate Cake

Wow, something about a goopy-half eaten cake really makes me hungry. And that goopy mess, is just waiting for someone to snitch the frosting & crumbs on the plate.

We used to have a “dessert night” once every 2 weeks for the kids as they would only have fruits of veggies for snacks & birthdays come only in “Birthday Season” in our family (Sept-Jan). I suddenly became everyone’s bi-weekly best friend. Well, we got out of that habit, but every once in awhile an occasion comes along to celebrate & it’s Snackie time again!

So there was this great guy, Danny, and he stayed with us for 2 months to help us with our motley crew, bless his heart. (I wonder if he’ll ever recover from that?) And I promised the kids that we’d have a fake birthday party for him before he left. It was marvelous. Course we couldn’t have him turn 16 before his time, eh-hum, so we turned him 2 instead, kids thought it was great. Put on party hats, sang the song, danced the dance & ate the cake!

Now if you must know, I don’t like making cakes! So there! They’re just unoriginal! And for some reason I’m almost never pleased with the result. I’m not sure what kind of shocking result I’m looking for, but anyway, it’s just always so predictably normal. Here’s the worst of it (shield your eyes) ½ the time my cakes come out looking pregnant. (Sure, go ahead & laugh, it’ s funny). In case you’re wondering, NO, when I’m pregnant they do not come out flat!

The most boring cake I can think of is a chocolate cake. I’m sorry chocolate people! Dad, sorry! I like to eat it, but cooking it is just boooooring, let’s face it. You put all the business in yada-yada-ya….& it’s all brown & “chocolate like” & it turns out just like you want it….like a chocolate cake.

If you can believe it I only have 2 chocolate cake recipes. One is for German Chocolate Cake (enter “holy-grail-Grandpa-Jay’s” music),
...the other is a Chocolate Forest Gateau, that’s been a regular in my family. So Danny-boy (for that is what we called him) when asked to choose ANY dessert, came up with this “ummmm…….wow…….well…..I like anything sweet, really!!” (Tsk…tsk) Not the appropriate answer. (Hint, in case I ever ask you: Get real elaborate using words like “chiffon/triple layer/puff pastry” etc….)

Don’t ask me why, but I went for the chocolate cake. I found it HERE!! A Cinnamon Chocolate Cake, and if you can believe it, this was a chocolate cake I WOULD make again. It was simple, EASY & very fast (both cooking time & prep time) also the frosting you can put on when it’s warm so that’s just great for me.
How was it!! Gosh, it was actually pretty darn good, it must’ve been the cinnamon but it had a spicy undertone, moist, dark, rich & the topping was something groovy too, shiny thick & a little sticky. Even though I didn’t use the blasphemous (but probably really fun to use) icing sugar in the frosting. OK, I did use granulated sugar, go ahead & pelt me with your “Healthy living” rioting signboards. (Hides face behind grubby cookbook) but next time I’d be willing to try brown.

I did of course cut down the sugar in the cake by a little more than ½. The recipe calls for 2 cups, I used ¾ c of brown. And the frosting I used 1 c. of granulated sugar. By golly, why do people use so much sugar in their recipes? I’d say by the time you get to more than 1 ½ c of sugar in a cake you’re tongue looses all sanity & it tastes the same as if you put 3 cups. Well, I guess that's it!