June « 2010 « Covet Living

Ok, I know what you’re thinking. Mayo cake? As in, the stuff you put on sandwiches??? Well… almost. Technically there’s Miracle Whip in it… And oh yeah, it’s incredible.

This recipe was passed down from my Grandma Brown, or “Meesheez Brown” as Steph endearingly called her. Check out the below pic of my grandma as a young thang living in San Diego in the early 50s (wearing red). She was the epitome of the Covet Living theme. She loved life and grabbed it by its horns! And boy, did she know how to cook.

This chocolate mayo cake is a rich, moist cake with a sweet, creamy icing that’s straight up ADDICTIVE. I like to think of it as a decadent alternative to the standard store-bought cakes – and it’s just as easy to make, with basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

On a side note, every year when I’m home for the holidays, I get to celebrate my younger brother Evan’s birthday. Not only does he request this gooey cake each year, but he asks my mom to decorate it in the most off-the-wall styles. For instance, two years ago he requested his cake be shaped into a blue Selsun Blue shampoo bottle (I couldn’t make this up). This past year, a gekko crawling through the sand.

Always the caring matriarch, my mom artfully crafted the below cake, complete with a long red licorice tongue reaching out to grab a fly (made from a raisin).

We sat around for a couple days, stealing bites off the gekko here and there, relishing the dense yet fluffy, sweet and a *teensy* bit tangy cake.

For those of you who are needing to make a cake for a birthday, cupcakes for a special occasion, or heck – for any of you wanting to sit around in your sweatpants this weekend, watch some old movies on TBS and devour some delicious treats (I’m not judging), this recipe’s for you:

FOR THE CAKE

Mix together:

2 C flour

1 C sugar

4 TBSP Hershey’s cocoa

Then add:

1 C Miracle Whip

Then dissolve:

1 C lukewarm water, and

2 tsp baking soda

Blend this with above ingredients

Then add:

1 tsp vanilla

Bake the cake at 375 degrees for approximately 35 minutes or until done.
FOR THE ICING

2 C powdered sugar

2 softened blocks of cream cheese

2 tsp vanilla

I usually double the ingredients for the icing, because, well, I REALLLLY like the icing.

And of course, accompany with a frosty cup of milk.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo,

Once upon a time, a coupla kids from Indiana – who were merely friends in college – ran into each other in California some 8 years later… and then they fell in love.

I’d like to give a quick shout-out to my favorite co-blogger, Karrie, who got ENGAGED over the holiday weekend in Maui (!!!!)

I’ll never forget the first time I spent a weekend with Karrie and her fiancé, Tim… our greeting went something like this:

(Stephanie): “Oh hey Tim!!! It’s so great to meet you!”

(Tim): “OMG, OMG, OMG. I love Karrie. I LOOOOVVVVVVE Karrie! She’s the best girl in the world. I seriously love, love love her. She’s so awesome. She’s SO. AWESOME. I can’t believe I found her. I loved her from the second we met. OMG, I love her.” (There may’ve even been a giddy, gushing tear of joy in there somewhere. This made me love Tim immediately, as I realized he was a very, very wise man.)

(Stephanie): “…oh wow, hey buddy, nice to meet you too! But you’re right (!) She literally is the best.”

There is nothing more joyful than seeing a friend whom you love so dearly find the person they’re meant to be with. It fills my silly little heart with sugarplums and gumdrops. We are all so, so very happy for you guys. Congratulations!!