Banana Crumb Cake

One of the first things I ever baked successfully was banana bread.

It was this recipe, and for once I didn’t venture off into impulsive ingredient substitutions and additions like I tended to. I think my parents were more relieved than anything when the end result was a basic loaf of quick bread that they didn’t have to pretend to enjoy like my other kitchen “creations”.

Since then I’ve tried many banana bread recipes, even posting about one here, and another super yummy one here, but the recipe I keep returning to is Flour Cookbook’s recipe by Joanne Chang. It’s the best banana bread I’ve tasted. Fragrant, soft, dense, and flavorful. Depending on how well I mash the bananas, it can be almost custardy (for this reason I recommend leaving some larger chunks, or if you’re like me and love bananas, fold in a diced banana at the end).

I recently brought this cake into my internship’s office for a co-worker’s birthday, and let me tell you, I felt like royalty for the rest of the day from all the compliments I received.

Try out this recipe and let me know what you think! If you love the taste of bananas, I think you’ll be a fan of this variation.

Other than that, college has resumed and all I have is a microwave and no ingredients to cook with. I’ll try to post if I end up baking any food with friends, but I’m anticipating a bit of a dry spell. Hang tight, friends.

My Favorite Banana Bread/Cake*

Recipe from Flour by Joanne Chang.

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour [210 g]
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar [230 g]
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed [340 g]  + 1 banana, diced [~90 g]
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Whip the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the oil, 3 1/2 mashed bananas, creme fraiche or sour cream, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the mashed banana mixture.
5. Fold in the diced banana. Pour half the batter in a loaf pan or a 8 inch springform pan. Sprinkle 1/2 recipe crumb topping (recipe below) on top, and spread remaining batter over. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb topping  on top.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minuters.

Oatmeal Crumb Topping

I’ve tried to proportion this recipe to be only what you need for 1 loaf of banana bread, but any extra crumb topping can easily be frozen and used in another recipe.

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup [4 tbs] butter
• optional: 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Mix together the flour, quick oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs and there are no large pieces of butter.

*Traditionally cakes are less dense and have a finer crumb than quick breads, but carrot cake defies this stereotype so I usually define cake vs bread by whether I bake it in a loaf or round pan, or something by whether I top it with frosting. If you’re more picky about this distinction, this is technically banana bread.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with Flour Peanut Butter Frosting

My motto for this cake was “go big or go home”. I can’t say I wasn’t tempted to add zucchini and applesauce to the cake, but I resisted because some times call for copious amounts of peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache, and 21st birthdays are one of those times.

My favorite component of this is the peanut butter frosting, which I created with a technique that I’ve been using for the past five or so years. The frosting uses a flour, milk, and sugar roux which is cooled and then whipped with butter to create an incredibly fluffy and flavorful frosting.

I prefer this technique over traditional buttercream frostings which I find to be overly sweet, and swiss meringue frostings which I find to be overly buttery. Flour frosting combines the best aspects of both. I’m normally pretty iffy about frosting, but I could eat this frosting by the spoonfuls. It’s that good.

Chocolate cake recipe: this chocolate cake recipe

Ganache recipe: this recipe for ganache

Peanut Butter Flour Frosting 

Makes enough to frost 1 small 5 inch cake. Double the recipe for full-sized cakes.

In a medium saucepan combine:

• 2 tbs flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup 2% or whole milk

Bring the mixture to a bowl, stirring constantly, and then cook for 1 minute. The mixture should be thick and slightly translucent. Scoop the mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap to the surface of the roux.

Place the bowl in the fridge until cold.

In a medium bowl, cream with an electric mixer:

• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Add the frosting roux and continue whipping until a thick and fluffy frosting forms.

Add:

• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter (I used processed peanut butter because that’s the smoothest kind that exists. I’m not sure how natural peanut butter would fair.)

Whip until the peanut butter is fully whipped in. Now, eat a giant spoonful to “quality test”. Continue “quality testing” periodically.

The Greatest Healthy Zucchini Cake (vegan)

I’m banning modesty from this post. This zucchini cake deserves so much better than what modesty can afford it.

I’m a bit antsy to be posting a recipe for “The Greatest Healthy Zucchini Cake” after a recipe for “The Best Veggie Lasagna,” but I think that’s mainly caused by my lack of posts. Up until this zucchini bread, nothing I made inspired me enough to write about it.

College has started up again, but because I’m living off campus I have my own kitchen. Lately I’ve been honing my healthy banana bread making skills (I’ve been taking a lot of bananas from my dining hall…), but that’s still a recipe in progress.

That’s, however, irrelevant. Back to what’s important.

This zucchini cake.

This zucchini cake is soft, perfectly moist, and loaded with zucchini and chocolate chunks. It’s also really, really healthy as far as cake goes, made with only ¼ cup oil, no processed sugar, and sprouted spelt flour. (Truth be told I’m a bit surprised it turned out so well.) I also added a oatmeal crumble topping, which was probably one of my smartest ideas of the semester (besides faking LaTex, but that’s another story entirely).

I’m a huge fan of sharing food with others (well, except sushi. Sharing sushi tests my generosity), but I’m finding it really hard to convince myself to share these. This is my 2015 recipe. Really, really, really.

The Greatest Zucchini Cake

In a bowl combine:

• 1 ¾ cup shredded zucchini (1 large zucchini)
• ¼ cup oil
• ½ cup dry sweetener (I used erythritol, sugar or coconut palm sugar should also works)
• 2 tbs buttermilk powder (or 1 tsp lemon juice to keep the recipe vegan)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir in:

• 1 cup spelt flour (or regular all purpose flour)
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• (optional) ¼ cup chocolate chips

Pour batter in a greased 8×8 pan. In a small bowl combine:

• ¼ cup spelt flour
• 2 tbs instant oats
• 2 tbs coconut palm sugar
• 1 tbs coconut oil

Stir until a crumbly mixture forms, and then sprinkle on top of the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a knife comes out clean.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Baking in college is surprisingly convenient.

If I’m at home and and I realize I’m out of butter, I have to either get up and go to the store myself (and I’m much too lazy for that) or call my mom to pick up some and wait until she has time.

Here, I can scoop up butterballs at our dining hall and store them in the kitchen until I need them.

Out of eggs? I just have to ask (although I still try to buy eggs when I can). 8 ounces of cream cheese is 8 little portion cups, and milk and yogurt is plentiful.

I only really need to buy cocoa, flour, baking soda/powder, chocolate chips, and vanilla to make mostly anything.

Obtaining ingredients is the easy part, actually cooking is harder.

For one, we have approximately one whisk and one mixing bowl in our entire kitchen. Also, I’ve seen approximately 2 measuring cups (and lately I’ve only found 1).

Also, it’s hard to find enough cake pans. But hey, when I can’t find large cupcake trays I can always make mini cupcakes, and those are arguably even better.

I made these cupcakes last saturday morning because I woke up and wanted to bake something. I really had no reason other than an impulsive need to make something – anything, and at breakfast there was canned pineapples so I settled on hummingbird cupcakes.

These are fun little cupcakes, made with applesauce, cinnamon, pineapples and bananas, and topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting (I still have some I have to use up in the fridge ahhh).

They’re really easy to make, though I do advise you don’t be like me and do it to avoid actual responsibilities like homework, because you’ll probably regret it (like I did) later. Still, it’s hard to feel much regret when you have plates of cupcakes in your room.

Oh, and another great part of college? Always someone willing to lend a hand and eat baked goods. It’s great because at home there are inevitably some leftovers that go in the trash, but here that’s not a problem.

Anyway, I should probably go and finish my essay at some point…

Hummingbird Cupcakes 

Recipe here.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon  salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup natural applesauce
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1 cup pecans (I omited because nut allergies)
• 2 large bananas, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toast pecans in oven for 5 minutes, then remove and chop into small pieces.

Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.

In another bowl, mix the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir until no streaks of flour remain (be careful not to overmix).

Add pineapple, chopped pecans, and banana pieces and gently stir.

Pour batter into paper-lined cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes for large cupcakes and around 10-15 minutes for mini cupcakes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• powdered sugar, to taste
• 1 t. pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Whip cream cheese and butter together. Add sour cream and whip until fluffy.

Gradually beat in powdered sugar to taste, then add vanilla and cinnamon.

Quinoa Cupcakes (Gluten Free)

This morning Tumblr informed me that it was Chomps of Life’s 2nd birthday.

Whoa.

That means that I’ve been making posts, albeit infrequently, for 2 entire years.

For someone who is always switching hobbies, 2 years of blogging is quite a feat.

Lately I’ve kind of neglected Chomps of Life, but that was mostly because my laptop was broken and I only recently got a new one.

Anyway, that’s besides the point.

The point is that Chomps of Life has been around for two entire years, and  that calls for cupcakes!

These cupcakes are inspired by my favorite quinoa chocolate cake. They’re soft, dense, and fragrant, and have a faint quinoa taste because they lack chocolate to mask the natural quinoa flavor.

Don’t let that scare you, though! They’re still delicious and taste like vanilla cupcakes. I gave my friend one, warning her that they were gluten free and made with quinoa, and she thought they were yummy. They are, they really, really are!

Look at that beautiful texture (and coloring – they’re naturally very yellow!):

Since I’ve only made these cupcakes once, this isn’t a perfected recipe yet (I’ll post an updated one eventually!). However, they are still delicious and I recommend anybody looking for easy gluten free vanilla cupcakes without 159384 different flours try them.

Quinoa Cupcakes

• ½  cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup potato starch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

1. Rinse the quinoa.
2. Bring the quinoa and water to a simmer in a medium pot. Cook 10 minutes then turn off the heat and cover. Let rest for another 10 minutes then fluff with a fork.
3. Alternately, put the quinoa and water in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate and cook for around 8-10 minutes in the microwave. Then let cool.
4. When the quinoa has cooled some, combine with the butter, eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, potato starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. If the mixture starts to separate, continue blending until homogeneous.
5. Divide the batter among 12 cupcake liners.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for around 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out without any wet batter.
7. Cool then frost with any frosting desired.

Quinoa Chocolate Cake (gf)

Ever since my lens stopped working (a nicer way of saying I think I might have broken it when my camera fell of the couch), I haven’t made much food. Occasionally I’ll whip up a batch of cookies, but without a way to document what I make, baking is somehow less rewarding.

Photography is something I do instinctively, how I record and remember my life. Unlike memories which fade and contort over time, pictures are constants. I can try to remember things long past, but human memory is fallible. Pictures are reminders of what has existed, how I revisit the past.

I’m not a very sentimental person despite how sappy I might sound right now, but as my high school graduation rapidly approaches and as I anticipate being uprooted, torn away from the people I have spent so many years with, I can’t help but flip (scroll) through old pictures and reminisce. Try as I might, I cannot fathom a life any different than the one I have now.

Food might not have the emotional significance of friends, but cooking has become an integral part of my life and I like to remember what I make. I’ve been using my phone’s camera since my f/1.4 lens broke, and it works fine for casual pictures (I like how candid phone pictures look), but my iPhone doesn’t do justice to food.

My fingers itching to practice food photography once more, I ordered a f/1.8 lens from Amazon last week, and though it’s was a hundred dollars, finally I have the ability to take DSLR pictures. My other lens is at the store being evaluated at the moment, but for now this lens will do.

This chocolate cake is probably my favorite ever. I know I’ve called this the “ultimate” chocolate cake, and I even have another gluten free chocolate cake recipe here, but this cake, this cake exceeds them all.

I use my friends as Guinea pigs for my gluten free foods especially (aren’t I a sweetheart?), and this one cake was received very, very well. One friend who claims to have discerning tastebuds scoffed when I announced the cake was gluten free, said it was good but kind of “empty,” then proceeded to finish her slice. The next day she ate another slice, and the day after had another. (Moral of the story: I think she’s just doesn’t like the idea of gluten free foods.)

My mom said she couldn’t even tell the cake was gluten free, and I agree with that assessment. The cake is moist, tender, and chocolatey – and has made up two out of my three meals today…oops. (I was almost going to see whether I could go an entire day on only chocolate cake, but I relented.)

A bit of advice, though: blend the quinoa mixture well. If not the cake will have a sort of corn meal texture, but it’s not a bad thing (I like it!), just different.

Gluten Free Quinoa Chocolate Cake

Found here.

• 2/3 cup white or golden quinoa
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and parchment paper two 9 (or 8) inch cake pans.
2. Rinse the quinoa under cold water. (I forgot to do this and didn’t encounter any problems, but the quinoa can impart the cake with a bitterness if not done in some cases.)
3. Add the water to the quinoa and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
4. In a blender combine the milk, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Add the quinoa and butter and blend until smooth.
6. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
7. Pour in the liquid ingredients and fold together until smooth.
8. Divide the batter among the two pans. Bake for around 25 minutes (35 minutes for 8 inch pans) or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Let the cakes cool then frost.

Chocolate Frosting

• ½ cup butter
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk

1. Melt the butter.
2. Stir in the cocoa, sugar, salt, and vanilla.
3. Beat in enough milk to get desired consistency. I didn’t add much and ending up with a soft, fudge-like product.

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

Originally, my family’s Christmas eve plans included lasagna. My mom commissioned me to make it, and per my request went grocery shopping, buying noodles, tomatoes, and tubs of ricotta cheese among other ingredients.

The problem was, no one really wanted lasagna, and I didn’t especially want to make it either. I made a sample batch, and with homemade tomato sauce, it took me nearly three hours. I couldn’t really imagine repeating that process, especially in the midst of our Christmas dinner chaos.

So, instead we had fish tacos, shrimp, beans, rice, turkey, and mashed potatoes…a strange (but delicious) combination. Seeing this left me with two and a half tubs of ricotta cheese, I decided to make ricotta cake for dessert. I’m not a fan of cheese in dessert (though I’m learning to appreciate cream cheese frosting – cheesecake is still a nope), but the ricotta simply made this cake deliciously tender and moist.

Everyone loved it, so much so that I’ve made two batches to use up all the ricotta. I brought it to a gathering with friends, and every last crumb was devoured. My friends and family all loved it, so hopefully you’ll try it and love it just as much.

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

NOTE: The first time I made the recipe, I used a loaf pan. The second time (pictured) I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 13×18 in jelly roll pan.

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups oil
• 1 ½ cups whole-milk ricotta
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• lemon zest from 1 lemon (save the juice for a glaze – recipe below)
• 1 carton (~1 ½ cups) blackberries/raspberries
• ~½ cup sliced almonds (i used the extra crushed almonds from a batch a macarons i made)

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Whisk together the oil, ricotta, and sugar in large bowl for several minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the extracts and lemon zest.
3. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until most of the flour is incorporated.
4. Fold in the berries, continuing to stir until no streaks of flour remain.
5. Pour in a 9 inch loaf pan, sprinkle with almonds, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool on rack completely.

Lemon Glaze

• Juice from 1 lemon
• ½ – 2 cups powdered sugar (depending on how much lemon juice))

1. There are two ways to use the lemon: for a glaze or for an ‘infuser’.
2. To make a lemon glaze topping, combine the juice from the lemon and enough powdered sugar to form a thin glaze. Pour or spread over cooled cake.
3. To make a lemon ‘infuser,’ add enough powdered sugar to temper the sourness of the lemon juice. Poke the cake with a fork when still warm, then pour the sweetened lemon juice over it. The sauce will add additional moistness and flavor.
4. I can vouch that both work well for this cake! It’s a great way to use up the part of the lemon the cake doesn’t use.

Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes (Gluten free)

These cupcakes are like eating a cloud of fluffy chocolate brownie cake frosted with the inside of Lindor truffles.

My dad has been sneaking into the kitchen and taking two at a time, and he usually only nibbles at the desserts I make. I can’t blame him though; I’ve lost count of how many I’ve eaten.

These cupcakes are super chocolatey, and not too sweet (though a extra quarter cup of sugar or a few drops of stevia can fix that if sweeter desserts float your boat) and the frosting tastes like the inside of lindor truffles. Really, it does!

The cake is more creamy and dense than traditional chocolate cake and it reminds me somewhat of brownies, but that’s the only distinction I can make. There’s no bean taste whatsoever.

If you’re feeling particularly healthy, you could replace the eggs with egg whites and sugar with erythritol, but these aren’t bad as is. So relax, and eat a couple (or ten).

Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cooked black beans
• ¼ cup oil
• ¾ cup cocoa
• ½ cup sugar (increase to ¾ cup if you like sweeter desserts)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor, blender, or with a hand emersion blender until smooth. The batter should be very creamy and thick – like chocolate pudding.
2. Divide into 30 mini cupcake liners.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-13 minutes.
4. Frost, or eat plain!

Inside of Lindor Chocolate Truffles Frosting

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup coconut oil

1. Combine and microwave until melted.
2. Let sit at room temperature until spreadable, or speed up the process using an ice bath.
3. Frost the cupcakes!

Costa Rican Banana Cake

I’ve been to Costa Rica twice.

The first time was in 2009, when a past Spanish teacher invited some of his other former students to join a group of his current students on a trip there. Most of former students (the people I knew) couldn’t go, which left just my friend Sonia and me.

By that point, even though I had taken Spanish for three years, I would still fumble during simple conversations. My parents allowed me to go on the conditions that I would speak solely in Spanish, but considering I was there with 20 other teens and a close friend, none of whom could speak much better than I, that didn’t happen.

Instead I spent close to a week making new friends (in English) and having fun, not a total waste I think! (Though, if you ask my mom and dad, they grumble and say, “Yeah, yeah.”)

Me and Sonia in Costa Rica!

This summer, I lived with a Costa Rican family for three weeks. My days were divided between community service and Spanish lessons, with the occasional excursion on the weekends.

Since I visited with my friend and her sister, I wasn’t completely immersed and did speak some English, but with twenty hours of Spanish classes a week, I definitely improved my conversational skills and learned a lot.

When I’m at home, I tend to cook most of my meals myself, mostly because I’m impatient and can’t bear the lag between asking for food and actually receiving it.

In Costa Rica, my host mother generously set out plates of food for me three times a day, and for three weeks I happily ate black beans, flavored rice, cabbage salad, and vegetables, with the occasional caramel candy or slice of cake.

During one of the excursions, I bought a Costa Rican cookbook from a giftshop, already dreading a life without homemade rice and beans at every meal. It’s filled with recipes for savory and sweet dishes, and all the recipes I’ve tried so far have been successes.

I’ll post recipes for rice and beans soon, but they were both devoured before I could take pictures. Luckily, I snapped some shots of this banana cake in time.

This cake is denser than most banana cakes I’ve had, and the recipe called for cloves and nutmeg rather than cinnamon, but it was still delicious.

Costa Rican Banana Cake [Queque de banano]

EDIT: Looking back at this recipe, I’m realizing how crazy its ratio for liquid vs dry ingredients is. I’m not sure how it baked up properly when I made it, but I’ve edited it to reflect this highly regarded recipe, and kept the spices so that it still has that traditional Costa-Rican™

taste.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas
• ½ cup butter, melted & cooled
• ¾ cups sugar (the recipe called for twice as much. I think ¾ cup should be fine)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and spices.
2. In another bowl mash the bananas.
3. Add the butter, sugar, eggs milk, and vanilla.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Bake in a greased 9×13 pan for about 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Happy almost New Years everyone! I can’t believe 2011 is almost over :O

I probably should make a list of resolutions for the New Year, but if I do, I doubt I’ll end up following through anyways.  It’s worth a try though, I suppose!!!

Next year I will:

1. Keep baking!
2. Bake different styles of food! (aka. gluten free, vegan, raw, ect.)
3. Improve my food photography.
4. CONTINUE POSTING ON CHOMPSOFLIFE. (emphasized so I don’t get lazy, hee hee)
5. Read and draw more.
6. Learn a new skill.
7. Do steps one to five, and repeat!

To celebrate this new year, what’s a better treat than chocolate cake? A luxuriously moist yet fluffy one at that! Top it with this Nutella frosting and you’ll opt out of New Years fireworks, choosing instead to stay with the cake.  A brilliant decision I might add.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• ¾ cup dutch-processed cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup boiling water

1. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso power in a large bowl.
2. Add the milk, sour cream, eggs, oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients, and whisk together for a minute, or until homogenous.
3. Pour in the boiling water, and whisk until smooth.  Batter will be quite runny.
4. Pour into 2 greased 9 inch cake pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted without any crumbs. Cool completely.