Recipe for Insanity

It's August 1. Let the games begin.

Not those games, although I do enjoy watching them, especially the diving, gymnastics, and swimming.

But August 1 heralds the arrival of The Season in our house. All of our birthdays and our anniversary are in August & September. Throw in the start of school right in the middle (and every other fall event "kick-off") and it's enough to drive a mom insane. Of course, since my birthday starts the festivities on Monday, I don't totally dread the arrival of the month!

It is better now that the kids are older and have outgrown the themed parties and taking cupcakes to school. But their birthdays are less than 2 weeks apart, and by the time I made all the variations of our traditional chocolate cake for parties and school and family during the elementary school years, we were all thoroughly sick of it.

But it is such a delicious - and EASY! - recipe that I want to share it with you and I'm submitting it for the Siesta Fiesta cookbook as well.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. boiling water

Heat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Stir in boiling water. (Batter will be thin.) Pour into two 9" round greased and floured pans. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting
1 stick (1/2 c.) butter or margarine (1 1/2 c.)*
2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa (1 c.)*
3 c. powdered sugar (4 1/2 c.)*
1/3 c. milk (1/2 c.)*
1 tsp. vanilla extract (1 1/2 tsp.)*

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk & vanilla, beating medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk or powdered sugar if needed.

*Note: I think the frosting recipe makes a very sparse frosting so I increased the amounts by 50% as shown in parentheses.

So please, have a piece of cake this month with your cup of mocha! There's plenty more where that came from!