Vegan Chocolate Cake

By Jen Whetten (Conor Cox's Mom)

Cake:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Chocolate Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
4 TB vegan butter spread (or real butter if you're an omni)
2 TB soy milk (or any other milk if you're an omni)
2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then grease an 8 X 8 square pan or dish.
2.  Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt with a whisk, making sure it is really blended together. Add the water, vanilla, oil, and vinegar, and again, mix until it's well blended. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
3.  Pour the mixture into the pan and place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on a rack completely (about 2 hours).
4.  For the glaze, in a small saucepan, bring sugar, butter spread, soy milk, and cocoa to a boil. Stir frequently; then reduce heat to a simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir for another 5 minutes. Don't think you can leave out this step, or the sugar won't dissolve and your glaze with be grainy....and nobody likes grainy glaze, now do they...
5.  Add vanilla, stir, and immediately pour onto cake. Glaze dries quickly, so spread it immediately and add any sprinkles or topping now. Let this cool for 1 hour, if you can wait that long!

Best Fudge

by Febrina Picone Malloy

Ingredients:
2 squares unsweetened chocolate (melted) or 6 TB cocoa plus 2 TB extra butter
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk, warmed
1/4 tsp salt
1 TB butter
2 tsp white corn syrup
1/4 cup water, warmed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup lightly toasted nuts

Directions:
1. Measure sugar and salt into heavy saucepan. Add melted chocolate, syrup, warmed evaporated milk and warmed water. Cook and stir with wooden spoon over low heat until it begins to boil.
2. Cover for 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to boil gently, stirring only 2 or 3 times, to soft ball stage (forms a ball when dropped in ice cold water), about 230°.
3. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla but do not stir.
4. Set pan in cold water until fudge is lukewarm, about 125 or 120°.
5. Beat until it thickens and begin to lose its gloss, stirring in the nuts before beating is finished. Quickly pour into buttered 8" pan. Cut when cool.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

by Febrina Picone Malloy

100 cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
3/8 cup margarine (1 stick less 2 TB)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
optional: in place of above sugars, use 1 cup white and 1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups oatmeal (generous)
2 cups (12 oz package) chocolate chips
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Beat shortenings, sugars, then eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.
2. Add dry ingredients and blend well.
3. Stir in oatmeal, chips, and nuts.
4. At this point it helps to chill the dough. Then drop from teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheet 2" apart.
5. Bake at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to over bake.
6. Cool on racks.

Chocolate or Coconut Pie

by Anita Niemann (Laurel Horky Malloy’s Grandmother)

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (3/4 cup with coconut)
3 heaping TB flour
2 heaping TB Cocoa or 1/2 cup coconut
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 prebaked pie shell

Directions:
1. Stir sugar, flour, and cocoa together in saucepan.
2. Gradually stir in milk and egg.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick.
4. Add vanilla and cocoa or coconut and put into pie shell.

Super Deluxe Chocolate Frosting

by Grandma Edith Malloy

This recipe is very tricky to get right. It has been the source of much frustration, but is worth the effort if it comes out right, and even the failures taste great!

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 egg yolks
5 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 TB butter

Directions:
1. Melt butter and chocolate over hot water in top of double boiler.
2. Add sugar, egg, and milk.
3. Beat with rotary beater until well blended.
4. Place top of double boiler inside large bowl filled with ice water. Let stand 5 minutes or until cold, then beat until fluffy and of desired consistency.

Chocolate Frosting

by Kathy Malloy Valenzuela

Ingredients:
2 cups whipping cream
2 TB sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 TB Kahlua
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate or 1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Refrigerate mixing bowl and beaters until very cold.
2. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave on high, stirring every 20 seconds. Cool chocolate.
3. Beat cream and sugar in chilled bowl until beater marks show distinctly.
4. Add vanilla and Kahlua and beat until soft peaks form.
5. Set aside and reserve one cup whipped cream for decorating.
6. Pour cooled, melted chocolate into remaining whipped cream and beat well.

Kathy's Famous "Pastel de Tres Chocolates"

by Kathy Malloy Valenzuela

Cake using three types of chocolate. (Made famous by the Mexico City Lion's Club.)

Cake:
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup buttermilk ( or sour milk: add 2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar to regular milk)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 TB Kahlua
2 eggs

Frosting:
chocolate syrup
Chocolate Frosting
marachino cherry

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour two 8" or 9" pans, or a 13"x9" rectangle.
3. Beat all ingredients on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Pour into pan(s) and bake 30-35 minutes.
4. When cool, spread cake layers with chocolate syrup. Frost with Chocolate Frosting, so that it is fluffy, not smooth.
5. Drizzle more syrup over the top of the cake in a criss-cross pattern, being careful not to get too close to the edge. Using a star tip and reserved whipped cream, pipe stars around the edge of the cake and in the center. Top the center star with a marachino cherry.

Chocolate Cake

by Helen McCulley Brandt

Be sure to have pans greased and floured and oven preheated before final mixing. Cake must be baked immediately.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/4 tsp soda
5/8 cup sour milk (to make sour milk, place 1 TB vinegar in a measuring cup and add milk to make 1 cup. Let stand for 15 minutes before measuring required amount.)
6 TB cocoa
2 1/2 cups flour (not cake flour)
1 1/4 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour two 8" round pans.
3. Mix sugar, butter, & eggs together.
4. Add soda, milk, and cocoa, and mix well.
5. Mix in flour.
6. Add water last and mix thoroughly. Batter will be very thin.
7. Bake about 35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
8. When cooled, frost with a light, fluffy frosting.