Skip to main content

From the kitchen: Fudgie Cake: the best chocolate cake in Michigan!

by Linda Theil


This blast from the past is for Claire S., my dentist at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, who loves to bake! I notice all the press releases say my commemorative plate is gold -- I wonder if that is just a figure of speech. I wonder where I put it.


Fudgie: the best chocolate cake in Michigan

AAA/Zehnders recipe contest 1991 winner: Linda Theil


Cake:

2 cups flour

2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour with cocoa three 8-inch cake pans. In small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, and baking soda. In large electric-mixer bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add dry ingredient mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients and beating well after each addition. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until center springs back when touched. Cool slightly. Remove from pans. Cool completely.


Fudge filling:

14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup water

2 tsp vanilla


Mix sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and water in heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over medium to low heat till thick. Cool till spreadable.


Chocolate buttercream frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

2 tsp vanilla

4 tbl half-and-half (light cream)

3 oz white chocolate, shaved


Beat all ingredients in electric-mixer bowl until light and creamy.


Spread filling between cake layers; save extra filling to serve over ice cream. Skewer cake with bamboo skewers to hold layers in place. Frost with buttercream. Top with shaved white chocolate.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Notes on Purl Soho Cross-back Apron pattern

Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,  front view Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,   back view by Linda Theil This is the Purl Soho Cross-back Apron featured on their website at  https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/11/20/cross-back-apron . Their page includes complete directions for making this one-size-fits-most apron with large, side-pockets and cross-back straps. This retro apron is so nicely made and looks so much like the apron my grandma wore in the Nineteen-fifties that I had to make one for my friend who appreciates the nostalgia and the beauty of this design. Although this apron pattern, as published, can adjust to several sizes from 2-10; I also made a larger option, adjusting the width of the pattern pieces to accommodate up to size 16 and up. Size adjustment may also be made by varying the length of the straps. These notes are a record of my experience with the pattern, and should only be viewed as commentary; y

Sujata Shah's no-template piecing

16-inch, four-patch "pinwheel" block designed by Sujata Shah, pieced by Linda Theil 2016 Fabrics:  Sturbridge line by Kathy Schmitz for Moda and Daily Zen line by Michael D'Amore for Benartex. I attended quilt artist Sujata Shah's "Pinwheel" class sponsored by the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild  at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor  on July 17, 2016. Shah is inspired by the work of Gee's Bend quilters and has developed a no-template method of piecing to emulate their unstructured designs. Shah's book, Cultural Fusion Quilts , is available at Amazon.com.  Shah's uses four 11-inch squares to make each block, but she said a quilter could use any size base they choose. Since I had a package of precut 10-inch squares in the "Sturbridge" design by Kathy Schmitz for Moda, I based my block on that size. We were instructed to bring a variety of backgrounds in one color and brights in another color. Since I signed up late for

Auntie Grace bag

"Auntie Grace" bag sewn by Linda Theil by Linda Theil This "Auntie Grace" bag pattern is available from  Knot & Thread Design. The bag is small -- about 8-inches wide, by 6-inches tall, by 2-inches wide. It is constructed of pre-quilted fabric pattern pieces, and the gusset seams are bound inside the bag. The bag features a full-sized zippered pocket inside, and a full-sized zippered pocket on the exterior back of the bag. It also features a divided slip pocked on the rear interior. A front flap is secured by a swivel hook closure, and directions for an adjustable cross-body strap are included. "Auntie Grace" bag, rear exterior I think the design of the bag is beautifully proportioned, elegant, compact, and very useful. The design concept seems to follow the appearance of the high-end "Grace" leather bag by French fashion house A.P.C.  "Auntie Grace" bag interior I would consider the Knot & Thread pattern to be competently de