Ethel's first job

So...I finally got around to using Ethel for the first time (that sounds really funny...), and she did a GREAT job! We made carrot cake together. :) For this special event, I made some videos of her in action. Here she is mixing the wet cake ingredients with the dry:

And here she is mixing the cream cheese frosting:

By the way...I've discovered that the longer she mixes the frosting, the creamier it gets! I know this seems really intuitive, but I honestly hadn't even thought about it until this time (I've made this cake at least 20 times...). I suppose there is probably a window of time after which the frosting becomes super rigid or something, but I haven't found the other end of that (yet)! :)

"Best Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe You've Ever Tasted"

For this Super Bowl party, I wanted to make a complete meal, from salad to dessert, so I planned to make a cake (my specialty, from what I'm told). I just made a carrot cake last weekend and still have a few pieces in the freezer, so this time I wanted to make a chocolate cake. My best chocolate cake so far has been this "Absurdly Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake," but for this occasion, I decided I wanted to make a "real" chocolate cake. Now, to understand how dedicated I was to this, you need to be aware of one thing - I am quite disturbed by the word "moist." I actually just had a mini panic attack when I typed it. So, you may now better understand how difficult it was for me to go to blackle (the energy-saving version of google that utilizes the exact same search engine) and type in "best moist chocolate cake recipe." Even though I had to take a Xanax to be able to read all the recipes, it was totally worth it! Here is the recipe I found, and It. Was. Amazing! Jen whipped up some vanilla frosting for that baby, and the three of us gorged ourselves on the "Best Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe You've Ever Tasted." Sweet!

Carrot Cake

This is my specialty. My most widely-known and well-loved culinary creation. People LOVE my carrot cake, and I LOVE making it! What is really, really, really, interesting to me about this is that, every time I make it, I think I like it just a little bit less. I'm not sure why. The last time I made it (well, really Heidi made it, mostly), I used 1 cup of apple sauce and 1/2 cup of canola oil instead of 1 1/2 cups oil. I didn't really like how it turned out, or I should say, I didn't like it as much. Other people, however, seemed to really enjoy it. This time, I made it for an office holiday party (on January 30th), and I decided to go back to the original recipe (makes me think of KFC), and I happily poured in 1 1/2 cups of oil. I did change something this time though. I added extra cinnamon (like a teaspoon extra), and I put in nutmeg (something that is not even mentioned in the recipe. :) Funny thing - I had a piece the night I made it, and it was pretty good. I had a bite just a few minutes ago after I snapped this picture, and it blew me away! I think it might be kind of like a lasagna situation - it just gets better and better as the days go by and it has a chance to "brew."

So...the recipe is no secret. In fact, you can find it here. (I think mine looks surprisingly like the one pictured.) The secret to this cake is the pan. This was one of those "Baker's Secret" pans that you get at the grocery store when you're in the baking aisle picking up ingredients for your first "real" cake and you suddenly realize you don't have anything to bake it in. The thing is - this pan is MAGIC! I've had it for, what, going on 10 years now, and this baby is still going strong. My favorite part is that it came with a plastic lid that snaps on so that you can bake, frost, and go! Someday though, I might have to spring for a silicone "pan." I swear sometimes the corner pieces taste a little like metal...