Full Recipe Thursday--Coca-Cola Cake

Anyone who knows me fairly well knows that pretty much the only soda I drink is Coke. What they may not know is I'm kinda a Coca-Cola nut. The only glasses I have in my house are Coca-Cola glasses (in three different types), I have loads of different bottles, hell I even have a Coke can Christmas tree ornament. I don't, however, use it alot in cooking (and using Diet Coke is an absolute no-no in cooking...heating it just makes it really bitter, so no substituting here). I have two recipes that I use it in and both are great. One is Coca-Cola chicken, the other is Coca-Cola cake which is really simple and is really great tasting. Kinda has a spice cake mixed with chocolate cake. Goes AMAZING with some vanilla bean ice cream.

Ingredients

Cake
2c All-purpose flour (doesn't have to be weighed, but give your flour a good stir before measuring)
1c Sugar
2 Sticks butter (don't use margarine, it's evil)
3tbls Cocoa powder
1c Coca-Cola
1/2c Buttermilk (ok to use the milk and lemon juice trick here)
2 eggs
1tsp Baking soda
1tsp Vanilla extract (if you can avoid it, use the real stuff...imitation is made from wood pulp)
1 1/2c Mini marshmallows

Frosting
1 Stick butter
3tbls Cocoa powder
7tbls Coca-Cola
1lb Confectioners' sugar

Procedure

Pre-heat your oven to 350° and grease a 9"x13" pan. Start by sifting the flour and sugar into your mixing bowl along with the the marshmallows (use the paddle attachment). Stir them to combine.

In a saucepan (don't use too small of one, this one expands quite a bit), combine the butter, cocoa powder, and Coke over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Start your mixer on slow and then pour in the hot mixture aiming for the side of the bowl. Mix just until combined, then add the eggs (beaten with a fork first), vanilla, and the buttermilk after having the baking soda just mixed in. Mix until combined. Pour into pan and then bake 30 to 35 minutes. Use the "toothpick comes out clean" method to determine doneness. When it is close to being done, prepare the frosting since it needs to be put on while the cake is hot. Combine everything except the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour it in your mixing bowl (that was cleaned first) and dump the sugar in. Use the whisk attachment and start very slowly, but then pick up speed up to the highest setting to get a little air into it. Whip at high for about a minute. Once the cake comes out, let sit for 5 minutes to allow it to set a bit then dump the frosting on top and spread. Let it cool for at least an hour before cutting into it. ENJOY!

Gadget Wednesday

Here we have the greatest kitchen "gadget" you will EVER PURCHASE...GUARANTEED*. No I'm not a paid spokesperson, this is just an awesome piece of machinery that costs a bit more, but makes up for it in efficiency and longevity. I'm talking, of course, about a Kitchenaid Artisan® Stand Mixer.

KitchenAid Artisan Series Imperial Black Stand Mixer - KSM150PSBK

You can purchase other kinds of course, but this one is tried and true. There are a couple of different models of Kitchenaid® ones with bigger bowls, lift bowls, and higher power motors, but this one does the trick for your average cook. I don't recommend the ones that are basically a hand mixer on a stand with a rotating bowl only because they aren't as versatile. If you aren't going to do alot of breads and don't mind mixing for longer, then go ahead with full steam and buy one of those.

I hear you saying "They're SO EXPENSIVE", and they are pricey, but I'd gather that if you cook quite a bit, you've gone through at least a couple of hand mixers, made numerous messes, and spent way more time mixing in the last 10 years than you have to. These babies last almost forever. Plus they have all these nifty gadgets you can add on like ice cream makers, pasta rollers, meat grinders, and even a sausage stuffer!

Around the holidays this thing is a God-send. You can start something in it and just dump ingredients as needed while doing other recipes. Make whipped cream or whip egg whites in no time and with very little trouble. It's just awesome. Get one (psst...available at Best Buy). I'll wait...

*I'm not paying you anything if you don't like it or don't think it's the best ever. That's all on you, because it IS the best ever kitchen gadget.

Quick One - Lemonade

Ok, I promised one for today, but I'm really tired, so it's gonna be a quickie (insert joke here).

I thought this one was appropriate since it is really starting to get hot here. On a hot day, nothing is better than a cold lemonade. The alcohol here is absolutely optional and lemme tell you, you can't taste it (at least with the vodka), so this could get you buzzed pretty quick.

Best (Hard) Lemonade

Ingredients per glass

1 Large lemon (Sunkist really does have the best lemons)
1/3c Granulated sugar (or to taste)
2c Ice cubes
2 1/2oz (that's a pony and a regular shot) of Vodka (or good quality bourbon)
Filtered water

Hardware

Cocktail shaker (or two sturdy plastic cups where one mouth fits into the other about an inch down)
Mulling stick (look it up)
Paring knife
Hand juicer

An image of these so that you get what I'm talking about:

Procedure for each glass

Wash your lemon thoroughly (without soap, Chandler). Now cut it in half and try and pick out as many seeds as you can with the tip of the knife without cutting out the juicy part. Best way to do it is pry them out. Next juice the lemon into the bottom of your shaker. I find the hand juicer is best for this and is cheap as hell. And for secret #1...put the rinds into the shaker after the juice. Pluck out any seeds you see before dumping them in, but there's a method to my madness here.

Next comes the sugar, you may want less or more depending on how sweet you like it, but I think this is an ideal amount. Then comes secret #2...mull (or mash/grind) the lemons with the muller. Make sure you mull firmly and grind that sugar against the lemon rind for at least 15-20 seconds. If the rind splits, that's perfectly normal. (I just noticed Marvin the Martian is reflected in my shaker above...AWESOME!). What's happening here, is you are releasing some of the essential oils trapped in the rind that will take the flavor to the next level.

Now put in enough ice to come close to the top of your shaker, follow that with the vodka (if you are using it) and then enough water to come up to about 1/2" from the top of your shaker. Lid up and shake for at least a minute or (if the shaker is stainless) until you can't hold onto the shaker anymore because it is so cold. Strain into a glass that is filled with the rest of the ice and enjoy!

Seriously, after this one, you'll never buy store bought again. As long as the lemons are in season, it isn't really expensive either.

I'm going to try and get into a weekly rhythm here. So mebbe a Quickie on Tuesday, Gadget on Wednesday, Full Recipe Thursdays, and Technique Saturday. Lemme know what you think.