baking under the stress
March 05, 2010

I�ve always been drawn into the kitchen when I�m stressed out. Cooking and baking can be a wonderful tension easer, in the right circumstances. I remember in September of 2001, I was making pots of homemade vegetable soup, baking pies, and putting up my own jam, just to help myself cope with the insanity.

So last night, I found myself feeling fidgety and out-of-sorts from my high-stress week, desperately needing to do something that felt productive. Virtual achievement in the form of FarmVille and Pet Society wasn't cutting it. I needed some real-life results, and I had a yen to bake. Scratch-bake. Something chocolaty and homemade and challenging without being too difficult or messy. Something I could do from the pantry, without a trip to the store.

I made this.

And topped it with half a batch of this:
PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

It�s the first time in years I�ve made a chocolate cake & frosting from scratch, and for as simple as a Hershey�s cocoa cake is to make, oh, good grief was it ever delicious.

And here is a tip�when your college student comes home from a particularly challenging class, toward the end of a tough week of wrestling with Theremin's theorem, he�ll be pretty darn happy to find one of those puppies waiting for him.