Friday, May 12, 2006

For Those of You Who Don't Like Chocolate Cake - Ignore This Post

Batya put out a call for recipes having to do with Jerusalem. This is a bit of a reach, but when I was a student in Jerusalem a LONG time ago, we didn't have an oven, just two gas burners. A friend gave me this recipe to make in what is called a "sirpelah", or "wonder pot" in English. This is basically an angel food tube pan which sits on a special metal disk over the gas flame.

When we were suffering from the cold Jerusalem winter, and dreaming of central heat, a hot cup of tea and a piece of this cake would do wonders (no pun intended) to brighten our mood.

Moist Chocolate Cake

1 1/4 cup margerine or oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
10 tablespoons cocoa (NOT Dutch processed)
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 tsp. coffee

Cream margerine or oil with sugar. Add vanilla and eggs. Dissolve salt and baking soda in 1 cup of cold water and mix into creamed mixture. Sift flour and add to mixture, mixing well. Add cocoa (yes, all 10 tablespoons). Make coffee and pour on top of dough and mix well. Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan and bake on slow oven - 150 C or roughly 325 degrees F. The tricky part of this cake is knowing when it is done. I start checking it at 35-40 minutes. Sometimes the cake will seem completely done, and after cooling the middle sinks. This is a good excuse to frost it, although it only really needs a small dusting of confectionary sugar.

9 Comments:

Blogger bec said...

you're making me regret the honey cake i made for this past shabbos. there's too much left to consider this chocolate concoction...but i'll have to keep it in mind (which won't be too difficult given my past addictions to chocolate AND baked goods. what a great combination, chocolate and baked goods!!!! )

9:20 AM, May 14, 2006  
Blogger westbankmama said...

bec - I absolutely LOVE honey cake, but for some inexplicable reason the rest of my family doesn't. So I only make it for Rosh Hashana.

9:55 AM, May 14, 2006  
Blogger tafka PP said...

I refuse to believe that anyone in the world will have skipped past this post.

4:28 PM, May 14, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Uh, honey - the cocoa you make this with IS dutch processed - it's rich brown and MUCH less bitter than Hershey's.

4:30 PM, May 14, 2006  
Blogger westbankmama said...

tafka - I know it is unbelievable, but there ARE people in the world who don't like chocolate (must be a wierd gene mutation...)

8:50 AM, May 15, 2006  
Blogger Sarah Likes Green said...

yum! can never have too many choccy cake recipes!!

you should submit it to the Kosher Cooking Carnival! :)

4:47 PM, May 16, 2006  
Blogger westbankmama said...

sarah - I already submitted it...

5:55 PM, May 16, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How unique, if you don't have to use an oven. :))))
(I wonder if you could use a rotisserie) And the coffee on top, is great too!
(hope its spelled right)

3:12 AM, May 23, 2006  
Blogger westbankmama said...

mb - yes, the Israeli homemaker used to be quite ingenious (now we don't have to be because we have everything - just like in America)

8:21 AM, May 23, 2006  

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