Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake

When I offered to make the cake for a family birthday party a few days ago, my host requested chocolate. This excellent cake cooks up in a jiffy: There’s no taste of the mayonnaise that provides its fat and some of its moisture. Because this was to be a party cake, I took extra care in its finishing, brushing the layers with Kahlua-Flavored Simple Syrup, icing the center with a snowy Bake-Shop Frosting, and topping it with a silky Sour Cream Ganache. 

If you’re a Ganache lover, you may also want to try Julia Child’s Heavy Cream Ganache. 

Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake:

2 c. unsifted all-purpose flour

⅔ c. sifted cocoa powder

1-¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-⅔ c. granulated sugar

1 c. full-fat mayonnaise

1-⅓ c. cold water

Kahlua-Flavored Simple Syrup (optional; see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease and “flour” two 9-in. cake pans (see Note). Set aside. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder to medium bowl, combining well. Set aside. Beat eggs and vanilla at high speed, using electric mixer. Gradually add sugar, scraping down sides of bowl and beating until no graininess remains when you rub a small amount of batter between your finger and thumb. Continue beating until thick and creamy, about 5 min. Reduce beater speed to low and add mayonnaise.

Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, alternate additions of flour mixture and water, beating well between each addition and continuing to scrape down sides of bowl. Distribute batter equally between two cake pans. Rap pans once on work surface to remove large air bubbles. Bake 45 min., until a toothpick or skewer poked into centre of cake emerges dry. Let cakes rest in pans 10 min. before inverting onto cooling racks. While cakes are still warm, brush “crumb” side of each with 1 tbsp. Simple Syrup combined with 1 tsp. Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur. 

Simple Syrup: East to make and use. 

I frosted the top and sides of this rich and gooey cake with Sour Cream Ganache, using Bake-Shop Frosting for the center layer. Using a little more than half this easy-to-spread frosting for the middle layer, I froze the rest for “next time.” It’s never a surprise how fast “next time” rolls around when there’s a delicious frosting in the freezer!

Note: Use sifted cocoa powder to dust greased cake pans for chocolate cakes.  Dust pans for other cakes with all-purpose flour.

Further Note: Purists slice away the “dome” that results after baking some cakes. My personal preference is to press lightly on the top of each hot cake in the pan, flattening its dome while maintaining the delicate texture of the cake. That does the job to my satisfaction.

To Prepare the Kahlua-Flavored Simple Syrup:

Simple Syrup is a very useful ingredient to stock in the fridge. Among its many uses is keeping cakes moist and adding a burst of subtle flavor. To make basic Simple Syrup, boil equal parts of sugar and water together 5 min. Chill for future use. 

I usually keep a modest amount on hand in a covered, labeled jar. For this cake, I brushed the “crumb” side of each layer (the side closest to the cake pan) with 1 tbsp. Simple Syrup to which I added 1 tsp. Kahlua. Tailor this basic recipe to your cake: Boil an orange with the Simple Syrup you intend to brush onto an Orange Cake, for instance, and add a splash of orange liqueur or non-alcoholic orange extract to the syrup. Let your imagination soar! 

For the record, Dollinks, I used only a whisper of alcohol in my syrup because this cake was intended for children. 

Dust pans with sieved cocoa. I use cake pans with built-in

sliding “cutters” that easily release the cake from the pan.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.

Pre-measuring ingredients makes the work go faster!

Beat eggs, vanilla, sugar, and mayonnaise. To this, add 

alternate additions of flour mixture and water.

Prepare Simple Syrup as cake bakes. Use

only what you need, adding liqueur or extract.

Brush cake with syrup - no need to soak it!

Another satisfied customer: Sydney

Two candles blown out ... seven more to go: Lyndsay

Fish House Punch

This powerful punch has been a favorite since its invention in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, in 1732.

Alcoholic Fish House Punch:

2 tbsp. basic Simple Syrup (see Note) 

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice (or 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice)

1 - 26 oz. (750 mL) bottle cognac

1 - 40 oz. (1.14 L) bottle light rum

1 c. peach or apricot brandy

3 - 26 oz. bottles (750 mL) sparkling white or rosé wine 

Ice cubes

Combine and stir all ingredients in large punch bowl. Makes 40 punch-cup size servings. 

Note: To make basic Simple Syrup, boil equal parts of sugar and water together 5 min. before chilling for future use.

Note: This punch packs a wallop! Because of that, your guests may consume less than the standard guide of three punch-cup servings per-person. 

Heavenly Lemonly Lemonade

Report from a willing galley slave: There be SCURVY aboard this ship! My regular blog will resume July 13th. In the meanwhile, let's address thirst!

Our dog-tired crew is thirsty!

Captain

First mate

Litter mate

If  “water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink” is your problem, let your crew drink lemonade! (Hmmm ... Marie Antoinette said something similar. Look what happened to her!)

OK, I must confess ... I resolved this onboard issue with generous servings of Minute Maid Lemonade that I’d been saving in the galley freezer for exactly such an occasion. At home, I’d rather be keel-hauled than use a commercial product, because making lemonade is easy and inexpensive. Purists will turn up their noses that one of my lemonade recipes uses citric acid. Well, let me tell you, Dollinks, the very best lemonades use citric acid (and other chemical boosts) to produce a strong  “lemony” flavor!

Even if you use many, many lemons, a moderate amount of sugar, and ice water, homemade lemonade tastes disappointingly weak without the pucker power of citric acid. An organic product, it occurs naturally in citrus fruits - especially lemons and limes. But somehow, freshly squeezed lemons, sugar, and water just don’t meet my expectations. Adding a small amount of citric acid produces the necessary zip and zing to make lemonade good and tart! You'll find citric acid at your pharmacy or the local health food store. If they don't stock it, suggest they order it.

Lemonade has certainly changed since the days when I began my recipe collection. You worry about additives today? My older recipes call for the addition of citric acid, tartaric acid, and even epsom salts.  More recent recipes tend to drop those additions. To compensate for the weak lemon flavor that results, they often up the sugar to what I consider ridiculous and even unpalatable amounts. One old-time recipe in my files calls for eight or nine lemons and five pounds of sugar. Five pounds! 

To my way of thinking, that’s not what homemade lemonade should be about. Lemonade should be refreshing - not based on a sickly sweet syrup with a few lemons tossed in as an afterthought. “How much sugar” is a matter of personal preference - I like my lemonade tart! I envy those of you with a lemon tree in your back yard; lemons in the Time Zone and at the Latitude Where I Live cost a small fortune! However, I’ve found that Costco sells netted bags of about 15 lemons at a very reasonable price. Check it out!

A hammock, a book ... perfection!

The essence of lemonade is its simplicity - some freshly squeezed lemons, a little sugar mixed with water, a few ice cubes, a tall glass, and a straw. If you have a hammock and a book, that’s even better! If you have a rowboat and a lake, that’s better yet! 

Here are four lemonade recipes for your summer enjoyment. One recipe is for purists, without citric acid; one contains it; one has über sugar and all the sweetness anyone could want; and one - very, very easy and more of a party drink - uses a can of frozen concentrate and a large slug of vodka. A couple of these recipes use “simple syrup” - I'll explain what that is and how to make it in the note that follows the final recipe. Add a little citric acid if you want your lemonade tart, or extra simple syrup if it's not sweet enough for your taste. To make lemonade more colorful and visually interesting, I usually add a chunk of fresh lemon to each glass. When I make a pitcher full, I add one or two unjuiced lemons, cut in half.

Apologies to my readers in New Zealand and Australia, now caught in the grip of winter. Save these recipes for a more appropriate time, when those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are shoveling our driveways and you’re at the beach, firing up the barbie!

At times, our ship has been buffeted by wind and waves; at times, it has been becalmed. Driven mad by thirst, our ship's crew has endured the long, lonely days at sea by entertaining ourselves through curious means. Discovering talents previously unsuspected, we have succumbed to the charm of foreign ports and foreign ways. Ron, his hidden camera ever at the ready, captured my Margaret Mead-like efforts to befriend the natives in one of the exotic ports we visited:  

Heavenly Lemonly Lemonade (Version I):

3 c. water

½ c. granulated sugar

Juice of 1 whole lemon, with quarter of lemon added to glass

Ice cubes, as needed

Wipe skin of lemon with a damp cloth. Boil water and sugar together until sugar is completely dissolved. Chill until needed. This makes a very thin “simple syrup” - see Note at bottom of all recipes on page. Combine first three ingredients. Pour into 3 or 4 tall tumblers with enough ice to fill each glass. Top with cold water. Serves 3 or 4.

Heavenly Lemonly Lemonade (Version II):

Juice of one fresh lemon

2-3 tbsp. basic simple syrup (see Note)

⅛ tsp. citric acid
Ice, as needed

Wipe skin of lemon with a damp cloth. Combine all ingredients. Add slightly more citric acid if you want your lemonade more sour, or extra simple syrup if it’s not sweet enough. Pour into a tall tumbler with enough ice to fill the glass. Top with cold water. Makes one glass.

Heavenly Lemonly Lemonade (Version III):

This recipe makes a Lemonade Syrup concentrate. If Minute Maid can do it, so can you!

2 c. granulated sugar

1 c. water

Rind of 2 lemons, cut into thin strips with a vegetable peeler or a zester

Dash of salt

Juice of 6 lemons (enough juice to make 1 c.)

Boil sugar, water, lemon rind, and salt 5 min., stirring occasionally. Let cool. Stir in lemon juice and strain. Refrigerate in covered container. For each cup of lemonade, use 3 - 4 tbsp. lemon syrup and enough cold water to make 1 cup. Makes 2-½ c. lemon syrup.

Heavenly Lemonly Lemonade (Version IV):

3 c. vodka, divided

2 c. frozen commercial lemonade concentrate, thawed, divided

8 c. ice cubes, divided

Combine 1-½ c. vodka, 1 c. lemonade concentrate, and 4 c. ice cubes in blender. Blend until smooth but still slushy. Pour into large freezer container. Repeat with remaining vodka, lemonade concentrate, and ice. Add to same container. Cover and freeze until needed. When ready to serve, gently whisk lemonade and pour into pitcher. Serves 8. 

Note: Basic or “thick” Simple Syrup is a mixture of equal parts water and granulated sugar, boiled together 5 min. as a “saturated” solution in which the sugar is fully dissolved before chilling. A “medium” simple syrup uses 2 parts water and 1 part granulated sugar, and a “thin” simple syrup uses 3 parts water to 1 part granulated sugar. Stored in a bottled jar in the fridge, basic or “thick” simple syrup is a common addition to summer drinks and a useful ingredient to keep on hand. “Medium” simple syrup is often used in iced tea, and “thin” simple syrup is used as a glaze for baked goods. This is all a matter of personal preference. Recipes for home-canned fruits such as peaches, pears, and apricots usually call for “basic” or “thick” simple syrup, but I greatly prefer using a “thin” syrup when I bottle and preserve summer fruits.

PS: If you like this recipe, see the Beverages section of the Index for still more choices.