So, the Guinness idea for the chocolate cake?
Well, well worth doing. It sort of richens and deepens the chocolate taste. And I even used nearly-all wheat flour and three grated zucchinis plus applesauce instead of oil. And I can tell the Guinness brought out the chocolate taste even more.
Incidentally, I can’t say enough for grating zucchini into this cake. It makes the cake a bit fudgy in texture, but I’m sure it adds all kinds of nutrients and antioxidants and whatnot. And you can’t taste it a bit.
I wonder if pumpkin would serve the same purpose, but add insane amounts of vitamin A?
Sadly, zucchini doesn’t add much of anything but water and fiber - but water and fiber aren’t to be sniffed at.
Oh, rats.
Does make for a very moist cake, though. Maybe I *will* try the pumpkin next time.
I have a recipe for pumpkin chocolate-chunk cookies, which is delicious, and I tell myself it has vegetables in it so it MUST be good for me … right?
Surprisingly, the pumpkin thing works. One can of pumpkin plus half a cup of water and a box of cake mix. Chocolate or spice cake works best here. Stir it together, bake as directed. It is awesome. No eggs or oil, and veggies to boot.
What about using pumpkin ale instead of Guinness? (I have pumpkin ale on hand, but not Guinness, alas.)
When I did the pumpkin thing with a boxed chocolate cake mix, I could really taste the pumpkin. I like pumpkin, but it was still a little weird.
And for some reason, I CANNOT find spice cake mix anywhere in Los Angeles. What’s up with that?
By the way, whisky, burbon, and brandy are good things to add to chocolate cakes or cupcakes. Yum. (The alcohol cooks off and it’s just the flavor that’s left, so no worries about school officials or anything.)
Mnemosyne
Try Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Crocker-Supermoist-Spice-18-25-Ounce/dp/B000EMK4G4/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1500913-3955137?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1192831780&sr=8-1