Chocolate Cake Squares (Grandma Hermalin's)

Chocolate Cake Squares (Grandma Hermalin's)

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 42.

I made these for Oscar night and they were a big hit. These is a plain Devil's Food-ish cake with a delicious ganache icing. Compare it to a general boxed cake mix and it is easy to see why baking from scratch is superior. These are excellent with ice cream or a glass of milk!

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 TBS. instant coffee
1/2 cup boiling water

The recipe is very easy to make - you basically mix all the ingredients together! It is baked in a 9 inch square pan at 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter until softened. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat for one minute.

Beat in the egg.

On low speed, add the cocoa.

Gradually add half of the milk, one half of the dry ingredients, the remaining milk, the remaining dry ingredients, scraping the bowl as necessary until the mixture is smooth.

Dissolve the coffee into the boiling water. While it is still hot, add it to the chocolate mixture.

Turn batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 35 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

The icing is made with 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate and 2 ounces of butter. Melt the chocolate and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time.

The icing is poured over the cake and it will run over the sides. 

Divine! 

Yum

Skinny Peanut Wafers

Skinny Peanut Wafers
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 89.

This is one of Maida Heatter's most popular recipes. It has appeared in Food & Wine magazine and a restaurant in Miami Beach put them on their menu. It is very simple with a minimum of ingredients. That said, the first time I made them, I realized I had made a mistake when they did not spread out like she said they would. I made them in too much of a hurry and used baking powder instead of baking soda. The cookies actually tasted fine but I was determined to do them correctly. Once you've made them, you can whip these out in no time!

Imagine a very soft peanut brittle - the flavor is wonderful. If you are having company, make an extra batch!




1 cup salted peanuts plus additional peanuts to use as topping (honey roasted are recommended)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sifted unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg
2 TBS. milk

The full recipe is available on the Washington Post website.