I am and have been an avid hater of food colorings... I feel that they do not belong in our diet in any way shape or form (maybe on Easter Eggs, but that is about it) I t drives me crazy when my kids or my students have blue tongues, green teeth or purple lips. Yuck...gross! Why? Why? BUT.... and a big but here... part of our eating experience is enhanced by color. Visually, when we slice open a watermelon.... we gasp and are in awe at the amazing design and color of it's glorious red insides. The blinding white flesh of a radish next to it's red skin can be so appealing. We are attracted to color. We eat with our eyes. So why blame my children when they automatically ask for Superman Ice Cream at the local ice cream shoppe. Of course they want the neon blue, red and yellow ice cream.... it has the most appeal. (by the way... I am the mom that always says, NO... you need to choose another flavor that is less fake and more real). But... I am also the mom that once in a great while, splurges and decorates wildly with artificial coloring. Why? Because...the kid in me surfaces (sometimes) and I can enjoy things without feeling guilty!

The Chocolate Touch Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Valrohna preferred)
1 and 3/4 cup flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 stick of melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot (not boiling) water
In large mixing bowl whisk together your dry ingredients except your cocoa powder. Sift your cocoa powder into the other ingredients and whisk again. Attach mixing bowl to mixer with paddle attachment. Add butter and eggs and mix slowly until moistened. Add buttermilk and mix for a minute. Add hot water and mix again for about 1.5 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans. I was making a sheet cake here so I just put all the batter into my 9"x13". Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Test for doneness.
The Chocolate Touch Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
2 packages of room temperature cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese and butter in mixer for a while - at least 3 minutes. You want them very blended, add cocoa powder and begin adding powdered sugar in 1/3 cup intervals. Taste along the way, stop when you think you have achieved perfect chocolate cheese cake flavored frosting. It will taste like that. Add the sugar to your liking. I tend to add no more than 2 cups just because I prefer my frosting less sweet. Spread on cooled cake. Top cake with M & M's just before you are serving the cake.
This is a No Adults Allowed Cake! Serve slices of cake to happy children!
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Wow, now that looks just sinful! I may be an adult (gosh, when did that happen?) but I know I'd still love to dive right into this cake! Great job!
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you’re interested, I’m having a silicone muffin pan giveaway on my blog – You should enter!
great post! makes a lot of sense that some of our senses are not much different from the kids.. which is usually our guilty pleasures...
ReplyDeletelook what you did , i'm think of getting chocolate cover raisins with my fruit salad.
Thank you!
Lisa
CookNg Sisters
Can I enrol into next year's class?????
ReplyDeleteAs my Mum say "rules are made to be broken - just not too often", worth breaking the rules for this cake, yummm!
Yummy cake photos Megan!! Wish we could eat them up! We are celebrating 8 and 5 year old bdays this month, and this cake might need to make an appearance!! xoxo, Teresa and family
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about color and food - I sometimes wonder what it is I'm ingesting...it's tough. We do eat with our eyes (and nose) more than our tongue. This cake is certainly colorful! The book sounds great.
ReplyDeleteHow adorable!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the recipe and the book! I have to read this story to my school kids. I'm sure they will love it too. And yes...from time to time I think it's good to be sinful!
ReplyDeleteChocolate wonderful. I'm the kind of person that doesn't ever feel that something is too rich or too chocolatey... this looks right up my alley!
ReplyDeletedelicious and colourful
ReplyDeleteI love that book! It's one that we read every year, but I usually just bring in hershey kisses. (I get a little baking-lazy during the school year, I'm afraid.) I know the kids would much rather have a beautiful cake with all of that chocolate on top! Maybe next year....
ReplyDeletethat is heaven.....
ReplyDeleteLooks very colourful...bet the kids are crazy for them!
ReplyDeleteWow, a mega load of chocolate...I am not complaining:) So fun and festive.
ReplyDeleteThat's a whole load of M&M's. I don't really like M&Ms, too colourful. Lucky it's no touch for adults :)
ReplyDeleteHello all! These are such lovely comments! Thank you for responding with such vim and vigor. It is good to know that many of us are concerned about crazy coloring... but even better to know that we all have a child like side... even though we are adults.
ReplyDelete@ms. Winstead - so great to hear from you- give those very cute kids of yours a kiss from me!
@scrambledhenfruit - I love that you read that book too, it was our first time with it and the kids just adored it. Made them think... what would happen next.
@Sara - you should try the book and then make the cake. It just was as much fun for me as it was for them.
@Belinda - I sliced open a muskmelon this morning and just stood in awe as it's juicy orange flesh was glistening and gleaming... and then the smell of it... yummm.
@Lisa - I had a good laugh at you putting chocolate covered raisins on your salad.... too funny!
xoxoxo - thank you all for the good foodie love! miss megan
What a great story! I feel the same way about artificial colors. I love that your frosting was cream cheese, so delish!
ReplyDeleteI love M & M's and chocolate, so a great post and story. My granddaughter loves M& M's, too.
ReplyDeleteAs a playwright, I so want to adapt that wonderful book! As a semi-adult, if cocoa is Valrohna - I am there. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteThis cake looks delish! My mom was one of the mom's that always said no to jello, fruity pebbles, and gushers. But it made cakes like this one so much more fun!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! Made me think about how my daughter ate some blue candy, thus looking light she ferociously devoured a smurf! I must try that cake recipe! MMMMMMMM CAKE!
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