Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Sounds Strange, But Boy Is It Good!

It was my sister's birthday this weekend, so I decided to make her a cake. Chocolate is her favorite, as well as the rest of the family.

So I had a plan. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Only one problem. I could'nt use a cake mix because my brother-in-law is lactose intolerant and most of the cake mixes contain milk or milk derivatives.

I did find one store brand that did'nt have milk in it, but when I read the ingredients, I was horrified! There were the usual suspects, tons of preservatives and artificial ingredients. That was'nt what disturbed me. There was lard, which I know is used a lot in baking, but it grosses me out. I actually could have lived with this, but there's more. Animal byproducts and tarro. YUUUUUUUCKKKK! POOOOOOO! ICCCCCCCCK! So I immediently put down the $1.59 cake mix (if that's what you want to call it) and set out to make a cake from scratch!

I had heard about using mayonnaise as an ingredient for a moist cake, but had never tried it. Anyone who knows me would never imagine that I used mayonnaise in a cake. Healthy and low-fat are key words usually associated with recipes that I make. But if I was going to go through the trouble of making a cake from scratch, I wanted it to be moist. And considering my brother-in-law's plight (there is no milk in mayo), I figured why not? I found a bunch of recipes online and settled on one from Hellmann's® Mayonnaise. I love their mayo, so I thought the cake would probably be delicious too! I was right!!! It was moist, chocolately and surprisingly light!

Hellmann's® Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup
unsweetened
cocoa powder
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
1-2/3 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup Hellmann's ® or Best Foods ® Real Mayonnaise
1-1/3 cups water

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans*; set aside.

2. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.

3. In large bowl, with electric mixer at high speed, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in Hellmann's ® or Best Foods ® Real Mayonnaise at low speed until blended. Alternately beat in flour mixture with water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour into prepared pans.

4. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. On wire racks, cool 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely. Frost, if desired, or sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

For the filling in the center, I used a yummy moist coconut mixture.

Coconut Filling

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup coconut milk, or more if dry
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut (I used fine textured unsweetened)
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts

In a saucepan, bring brown sugar and margarine to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, coconut and walnuts. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Let cool and spread evenly on bottom layer of cake. Cover with the top layer of cake and frost!

To top it off, I made Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Frosting.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine (I used Fleishmann's unsalted margarine which is contains no milk derivatives)
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk (I used coconut milk and a little water)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

I kept the decorating simple. The top of the frosted cake was sprinkled with the same unsweetened coconut and shaved dark chocolate adorned the perimeter.

What is the strangest ingredient you have ever used in a common recipe?