Happy Birthday to me!

In the midst of the excitement over the engagement...comes my birthday as well! Interestingly enough, birthdays are just not the same as I get older. In fact, my mother and I had a VERY interesting conversation

Mum: "Happy birthday to you for Tuesday! How will you be celebrating?"
Me: "Thank you!!! Just dinner with AR and maybe lunch with friends on another day. Simple."
Mum: "Yes! See, you are now OLDER"
Me: "Wah... your turn to make fun of me......."
Mum: "HAHAHAHHAHA..yes! Finally my turn!! You are reaching your mid-twenties finally! hahhahaha

I couldn't stop laughing either...

It may seem bizzare to you but mum being mum, it's rare for her to tease!

So anyway, since it's my birthday, I guess it makes sense to share a cake I baked earlier in the month. This is one UGLY cake. Seriously. Really ugly. The surface uneven, the batter looks messy... just not what you will expect from a cake.



See how uneven the surface is? It looks like a blob of mess!



I even tried to use the software program to add "Stars" to make it look nicer.. Still it is one ugly cake.. Maybe kids will think it is the surface of Mars or another planet..

HOWEVER, I was pleasantly surprised by how moist and chocolately the cake was. The flavors were deep and rich. It's Mocha cake, so there was also a hint of coffee in the sauce. More importantly, the cake is LOW fat without taste being compromised! Seriously yummy. I had 2 helpings of it.

It doesn't look like it but as the saying goes... Looks can be deceiving.

Mystery Mocha Cake

Cake
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) low-fat cocoa
3/4 cup (6 ounces) skim milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Sauce
1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) low-fat cocoa
1 cup double-strength coffee, room temperature

Cake: Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a cake pan.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Add the milk and vanilla; beat till smooth. Pour the batter into pan.

Sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the white and brown sugars. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter in the pan. Pour the coffee over all. This may look kind of strange and messy, but never fear; everything will turn out fine.

Bake the cake for 40 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. This cake is best enjoyed warm, between half an hour and an hour after you've taken it out of the oven.

Adapted from the King Arthur Flour Company