just for fun - Make Chocolate Cake!

  

Today is not actually Chocolate Cake Day, but February is Bake for Family Fun Month and Celebration of Chocolate Month, so especially since here in Michigan (and many places in the country) it has been very cold and snowy, what could be a better way to brighten a cold day, than with a piece of chocolate cake?!!! (Although if you are like me and working to lose more weight, then the thought of chocolate cake will have to be enough!)

I found the following information on punchbowl (dot) com about Chocolate Cake . . . "Cakes have a rich culinary history. In Greece, cakes (or “plakous”) were heavy and flat, and people served them with nuts and honey. The Romans made cakes which were more like cheesecake or pastry, and presented them as offerings to the gods. In Medieval England, people used the words 'bread' and 'cake' interchangeably to refer to anything made with flour dough.

A company called O. Duff and Sons created the first boxed cake mix in the late 1920s. In 1947, after years of research and development, General Mills released the first 'just add water' Betty Crocker cake mixes. The available flavors were Ginger, Spice, Yellow, and White. In 1948, Pillsbury introduced the first chocolate cake mix.
Today, the most popular kind of cake is chocolate. There are many different types, including Black Forest, Devil’s Food, Flourless, Fudge, Ganache, German Chocolate, Lava, and much more. Head to your local bakery or whip up your favorite recipe to enjoy Chocolate Cake!"

This is definitely a fun and tasty way to do something fun - and tasty - with your grandchildren! Have them help you make . . . and of course, eat, a chocolate cake! You could also consider making an extra cake in a 13x9 pan and then cut it into quarters - or at least in half. Have your grandchildren help you decorate the cakes and then take them to your neighbors to brighten their day, too!

I found the following "fun facts" about chocolate cake and thought it would be fun to share them with you . . . 

• In America, chocolate was consumed primarily as a beverage until the 1830’s or 40’s
• According to the Dover Post, chocolate cake was born in 1765 when a doctor and a chocolate maker teamed up in an old mill. They ground up cocoa beans between huge millstones to make a thick syrup.  The liquid was poured into molds shaped like cakes, which were meant to be transformed into a beverage.
• Years later, a special dessert was created for a prince in the 1800′s by an Austrian chef.  He used two layers of chocolate dough with jam spread in the middle.  Chocolate frosting was then poured over the dessert.  Hence the birth of the chocolate cake!!
• The earliest chocolate cakes were actually yellow cakes with chocolate icing - after this, people began eating chocolate and they ended up making chocolate bars!

So . . . which "fun fact" did you find to be the most surprising? I thought the one about the first chocolate "cake" made by the Austrian chef was interesting. 

Enjoy your chocolate cake!