CHOCOLATE BAYOU CITY CAKE

 If you have been missing seeing yummy looking desserts here at My Patchwork Quilt, the reason is I have been totally absorbed with making thirty different quilt blocks for a 30 Block Exchange Group I was invited to join. When it is over, I will have received 29 blocks from ladies across the United States and Canada to make a Friendship Quilt. I have received thirteen so far. (See picture below.) I have learned so much about different patterns and ways to make them but haven't made a dent in my stash. Oh well, that's okay. I'm not sure what I will do to occupy my time, when I am finished. Maybe rediscover my kitchen? 

I haven't completely forgotten where the kitchen is. In fact this weekend I had to give in to my sweet tooth and do I have a winner to share with you. I admit the name of the cake is what caught my eye first. 

Because of my background living in a rural town in the Mississippi Delta in Southeast Arkansas that was built along a bayou called Bayou Bartholomew  the idea of a bayou and a city seemed a little strange. In the early days I've been told riverboats went up and down the bayou. The bayou had to be a lot bigger or maybe the riverboats weren't the big beautiful white ones I seen. Anyway eventually I guess when the railroad came through, the businesses moved to the other side of the town by the railroad. I would love to see pictures of it. My maternal granddaddy was the village blacksmith. His shop was on the other side of the railroad from the business. Besides his responsibilities as the blacksmith, he and my grandma would hang the mailbag on a hook for the train to pick up and receive the one the train was dropping off. I just love the old stories I know. I just wish I knew more.

But I guess you are patiently waiting for the recipe. As I do so often, I tried to make it as sugar-free as I could. I did manage to reduce the added sugar to 1/4 cup of brown sugar. The recipe called for 1/2 cup but I just used 1/4 cup and then added a 1/4 cup of  erythritol, a sugar substitute for the other half. I used a sugar-free cake mix and instant pudding mix and even bought a can of fruit cocktail that had no-sugar-added. The really fantastic thing? You would never guess it when you take a bite. The recipe had a glaze, but I didn't use it or include it in the recipe. As it was baking, I got to thinking and decided it didn't need it. And it doesn't. The cake is beautiful and will satisfy anyone's sweet tooth. 

A printable copy of just the recipe

CHOCOLATE BAYOU CITY CAKE

1     package (Sugar-Free) devil's food cake mix

1     package (Sugar-Free) 4-serving size chocolate instant pudding mix

1     can (15-oz) No-Sugar-Added fruit cocktail

4     large eggs

1/4  cup oil

1/2  cup packed light brown sugar OR 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar + 1/4 cup sugar substitute (like erythritol or stevia or Splenda)

1/2   cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 " baking pan and then dust with flour. Shake off excess. Set aside.

Place the cake mix and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl. Combine the two with a whisk.

Then add the fruit cocktail and its liquid, eggs, and oil.

Combine the ingredients on low with an electric mixer just until the dry ingredients are wet.

Then scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

Then beat on medium speed for about 1-1/2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

Then pour the batter in the pan and spread out evenly with the spatula.

Combine the brown sugar/sugar substitute with the pecans and

then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter.

Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched in the center, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.

The cake covered with foil or a cake cover will last at room temperature for a couple of days or up to a week in the refrigerator. (if it lasts that long).

So far I have received 13 blocks. The purple one is one I am making. I have the 36 HST (half-square-triangles) made I just need to sew them together.