Surprise Cake
Would You Be Able To Guess The Secret In This Moist Cake?
On a recent trip back home to visit my family I had a lot of time on my hands. Of course, my favourite thing to do with free time is experiment with new desserts that are easy and quick. This one that I found on Allrecipes.com intrigued me. It’s called Surprise Cake and it has a secret ingredient that your family will never guess…well at least mine didn’t. The secret ingredient is…..cayenne pepper. I was surprised too! In fact, if I didn’t know it was in there, I wouldn’t have guessed it myself. Although you can taste a hint of heat, it’s not overly noticeable so it’s fun to make everyone guess what’s in it. Besides the appeal of using a secret ingredient, it was nice to find out that the cake itself is actually moist, chocolaty and delicious. I turned mine into cupcakes. I think you’re going to have fun with this one! Enjoy!
SURPRISE CAKE
2 cups white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup water
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup butter, water and 3 tablespoons cocoa to a boil. Remove from heat. Add to flour mixture and beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl, Mix sour cream, eggs, baking soda and cayenne pepper. Add to the cake batter. Blend well. Pour batter into 9×13 inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
For the Frosting: Melt 1/4 cup butter, add 1/3 cup cocoa. Add confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth and free of lumps.
Spread frosting on the cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve. Ask your company if they can guess what is in it, they never will.