Chocolate-chip (pecan) cake

How did I not post this before?

I ended up with a bag of self-rising flour.  I don't know why I have it; I've never used it before.  Whatever.

Anyway, I started looking for ways to use it up before the humidity kills it.  Biscuits.  Cake.  Cake!

This is based on the old 1-2-3-4 cake, so it's easy.  I didn't even bother to beat the egg whites, so it's a one-bowl cake.  1-2-3-4 cake is a kind of primitive, coarse-textured cake, but that's fine.  This recipe halves easily; use a 9 x 9 square pan, or something similar, if you make a half recipe.

I've made this with and without pecans.  It's good without, but it's fantastic with.  It would be good with a good chocolate icing, too.  The bitter chocolate icing that goes with the graham cracker Napoleon would be good, in a thin layer.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9 x 13 pan.

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (don't skimp; you want this to taste like cookies)
3 cups flour (all-purpose is fine; cake is great if you have it but you don't need it)
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
OPTIONAL:
Pecans, about 1/3 cup, crushed.  Put them in a baggie and pulverize them with the bottom of a sturdy mug, or some other heavy, blunt, object.

Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs (you can separate them and beat the whites to soft peaks to fold in at the end, if you want a lighter cake, but if you're in a hurry just add them whole).  Add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly, but don't overwork.

Pour into pan and bake 25 minutes, or until a knife in the middle comes out clean and the top is golden.  I baked this a little longer to give it a good brown crust.

I was going to take a picture but it got eaten before I got the chance. 

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