I hate throwing food out. So I kept that cup of sour milk thinking I'd do something with it later. Later turned into a week (or more). The milk had definitely clabbered. I could have just dumped it into the garbage disposal, but, nope, I didn't. Instead, I decided I needed to make a chocolate cake--one rich and sweet enough to incorporate that cup of very thick, curdled milk. The milk, which might have gone down the drain, turned my cake into a moist, beguiling dessert. Dark brown sugar and a bit of molasses as well as cocoa powder provided dark richness, and a bit of cinnamon enhanced the chocolate taste. The rocky road topping was simple, fast, and showstopping. Nothing more than puffy marshmallows, toasty sweet pecans, and chocolate chips, the ingredients melded, melted, and oozed across the dark landscape of the cake. Good thing I didn't throw out that milk.
Chocolate Rocky Road Cake -- Makes 1 9-inch cake
1 cup of sour milk
1/2 cup of canola oil
2/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons of molasses
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Topping
1 cup of pecans
2 cups of marshmallows (mini are easiest)
1 cup of chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9-inch spring-form pan with parchment paper. Coat the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl whisk together well the sour milk, oil, sugars, molasses, vanilla, and eggs. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and whisk the dry mixture gradually into the wet mixture until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 50 minutes or until barely done. Remove the cake from the oven and scatter the pecans (chopped or not--you decide), marshmallows, and chocolate chips across the top of the cake. Return the cake to the oven for about 10 minutes more or until done (a pick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs and no batter) and the marshmallows are puffed, nuts toasted, and chocolate chips are starting to melt. Take a knife and run the flat side across the top of the cake to smear the chocolate across the marshmallows and nuts. Let the cake cool completely and serve it. Or serve it while it's warm with a scoop of ice cream on the side. The cake won't cut as easily warm as when it's cold, but the warm cake, if a bit ragged, will taste incredibly good.
