Chocolate Cake in Milk

If you checked out the 52home picture from Monday, you saw a large piece of chocolate cake swimming in a bowl of milk. Makes me hungry just writing those words. My brother, Chad, was about to make quick work of that piece of cake.

I titled the picture, “Cake the Mahaney Way” to avoid confusion, but this tradition actually comes from my mom’s side of the family—it is “Cake the Layman Way.”

You see, my grandfather was raised on a dairy farm in rural Virginia, and for as long as I can remember Grandpa Layman would only eat his cake drowned in a bowl of milk. So his kids grew up eating cake that way, and now, so do his grandkids. Even Mike ate his cake this way the other night. I’m telling you, it’s catching!

The cake you saw in the picture is a family favorite: Sour Cream Fudge Cake. We got the recipe from our friend Valori. She’s the mother of five boys, so you know this cake has to be good! Per your request, we wanted to pass it along.

The bowl of milk is optional, but I’m saying give it a go!

Sour Cream Fudge Cake (PDF Version)

from Valori Maresco

1 c. butter

5 T. cocoa

1 c. water

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 c. sour cream

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. butter

5 T. cocoa

1/3 c. milk

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Bring the butter, cocoa and water to boil in a large pan. Remove from heat and add the flour, sugar and salt. Mix together the eggs, sour cream and baking soda; add to the mixture. Pour into a greased (13x9-inch) cake pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. While the cake is baking, make the frosting by bringing the butter, cocoa and milk to a boil. Beat in the powdered sugar and the vanilla. Spread on the hot cake when it comes out of the oven.