To Bake a Cake on a Snowy Day

The Northeast is experiencing the blizzard of 2010. I am home from work today and after reading the weather reports, I am rather skeptical about getting in tomorrow morning. Hopefully by the afternoon I will be back at my desk on the trading floor. It is nice to be at home and bake and read food blogs, but at the same time being cooped up past one day will drive me a bit stir crazy.

Speaking of stirring...

In the meantime, it is coming down about an inch an hour and I craved baking a cake today. However, I did not want all of the fat and calories. I searched high and low and found a winning recipe for a gorgeous and delicious cappuccino cake! This was featured in a contest, so trusting it seemed just fine. It is the perfect cake for a snowy day. You can have it with a coffee, hot chocolate, or a nice glass of Shiraz! Also, for you vegans out there, just use soy yogurt and you are good to go! I must say that this cake is delicious and extremely moist, and you don't even need the glaze. The powdered sugar would be fine as a topping!

If you are experiencing a snow day today, too, enjoy!

CAPPUCCINO CAKE RECIPE (Courtesy of Cut the Calories Cook Off Contest, GMA, 2000)

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Hershey's)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Fage)
3/4 cup strong coffee (cold - I used vanilla flavored)
1 teaspoon coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)
1/4 cup oil

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl until well-blended.

3. In separate bowl, whisk yogurt and cold coffee, oil and liqueur together until smooth.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until cake batter is well-blended.

5. Pour batter into on 8-inch round pan (wax paper bottom and grease/flour sides) and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

6. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan, then remove wax paper from bottom of cake.

Ingredients for the glaze

Ingredients for glaze:

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate (melt for glaze)
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)
1/4 cup icing sugar (to dust on top of chocolate)

Directions

1. When cake has totally cooled, melt chocolate in microwave.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of coffee liqueur and mix well until you get a glaze-like consistency.

3. Drizzle melted chocolate in zigzag pattern over top of cake.

4. Once the chocolate has set, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Elvis has left the Oven

Monday Night Banana Bake a La Elvis

Ingredients:

1 Really Hectic Day at Work after a Vacation

1 Lingering Cold

1 Overripe Banana

2 Tablespoons of organic crunchy peanut butter

1 Handful of semisweet chocolate chips

A dollop of Fluffernutter (optional)

Directions: Invoke your inner Elvis, stuff that banana with goodness, wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Then, stuff yourself with goodness and smile knowing that Monday is over.