Swamp cake

The first night Di was here, I received an e-mail from K, sending a recipe for a unique chocolate cake, "just in case you and Di are in the mood" for something chocolatey.  Well, K, let me say this,  no matter what you've heard to the contrary, real women are ALWAYS in the mood--for something chocolatey.

The recipe for Chocolate Eclipse cake came from Mollie Katzen's Web site and defies all the normal cake baking conventions. No eggs, just a wee bit of butter, and a magical process where the cake creates its own fudge sauce during the baking process. It has unsweetened chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and cocoa in it. Don't drool on your keyboard.

There was a line in the recipe that I loved: "Pour on the boiling water. It will look terrible, and you will not believe you are actually doing this, but try to persevere."

Those words said so much to me on so many levels. I couldn't get them out of my head. I saw making this cake as a challenge AND a life lesson. But yes, Mollie Katzen wasn't exagerrating--it looks like a disaster!

My daughter took one look at this and said, "That's not Eclipse Cake, it's Swamp Cake!"

Yes, it is Swamp Cake. Look at the eerie mist lingering above the pan.

Hmmm, after it's baked, it looks like cracked earth.

Cut the cake and flip the slices over to see the "sauce."  My son said the spongy, fudgy texture was mud-like. So it's official, K. From now on, we're calling it Swamp Cake at Chez V.

November 16, 2007

Comments

[RD]

Hey, wait a minute! You're not going to leave us here drooling on our shirts, are you? Where's the recipe?! (OMG, my kids will shed joyful tears when I tell them we're making "swamp cake".)

[RD]

Ooohh...got excited there. Katzen's website is great. I'm off to buy some ingredients for the kids' after school baking session. Will report back.

[V-Grrrl]

Cool! Here's the link for everyone else:

http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=chocolate_eclipse

[CB]

I love the swamp thing. Now! Here's a challenge for anyone interested: find a video or audio of "Swamp Boy" by Mountain on the Avalanche album and then post it here so all at Chez V can listen to it while enjoying the leftovers for the ultimate Swamp Cake adventure.

[Claudia]

Two words, V. ~ Totally decadent. I will be making swamp cake for the ankle biters over the Holidays, though I alas, won't be allowed to partake. Heads up, since you KNOW how GREAT of a cookie baker I am, my daughter made me purchase Gingerbread fixin's. Stay tuned for the disastrous (and hilarious) results. ;)

O,
C.

[Lynn]

Yummy!! We'll have to try it!! Thanks for the cool pictures so I can torture myself at work!!

[furiousBall]

that cake... i want it. now.

[Shirley]

Swamp cake! I totally love the idea of it :-) . Recipes that get new names from the family are either the best or the worst, so I am glad this one fell into the best category. I can just imagine how good this cake tastes so I can't wait to convert the recipe to gluten free and try it. Better wait until Thanksgiving though ... so I'll have enough people to help eat it! LOL DH and DS are not big cake eaters, but I am am ... hmmm, can I wait that long? Oh, thanks for the step-by-step pics, too. Now we really know what to expect and won't be persevering like you did.

[Neil]

Did you buy that plate just to color-coordinate it with the cake? Is there any left over?

[Peter]

My S/O looked at your shots and uttered "I can bake that too".

It was purely intended as a culinary compliment, from someone who has a habit of turning any kitchen into a war-zone :-)

[lizardek]

but,...was it any good?? It sure LOOKS good!!

[Expat-CIT]

"Eerie mist lingering above the pan..." LOL! You can even make a mess sound good. Love it.

[Amber]

Um...Yum! Jeez that looks good. I will maybe try it for Thanks. ;)

:)

[Manictastic]

Sounds yummy :)

[RD]

Made the cake, and it looked as crazy as yours! Very good--wait for it to cool completely to room temperature before eating. It gives the pudding a chance to thicken, and it doesn't burn the taste buds off your tongue!

[V-Grrrl]

RD,

I agree. While the recipe advises to eat it while it's warm, I found I liked it much better the day after.