Cooking Lesson #620: Orange-Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

…from the Perspectives’' Kitchen

How you doin’? What? Mayonnaise in chocolate cake? You’ve got to be kidding! No kidding, mayonnaise is exactly what your cake has been missing all along. Made from eggs and oil (which are standard cake ingredients) mayonnaise will boost the moisture level in a cake recipe when added to the batter. It can even gussy up a boxed cake mix enough to taste homemade. 
 
While adding mayonnaise to dessert may sound odd, apparently this is an old-timey baking trick. The Kitchn traces mayonnaise in cakes back to World War II or the Great Depression when food scarcity forced cooks craving sweets to get creative. 
 
To try it, simply stir in a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise to boxed cake batter for rich flavor. Mix in a whole cup of mayonnaise to really up the decadence. By adding mayonnaise, the texture of the cake is transformed, becoming luscious and extra-moist. Mayonnaise will become your secret cake ingredient.
 
According to Serious Eats, the mayonnaise addition works especially well with chocolate cakes, which can easily become dense. The extra oil adds tenderness to the cake crumb and the vinegar (or lemon juice) found in mayonnaise actually works to enhance the flavor. The acidity offsets the sweetness and makes the chocolate flavor stand out.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  45 minutes
Cook time:  15 minutes
Yield:  9 x 13-inch cake (18 reasonable servings)
 
Ingredients 
2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter (to prep the pan)
2 tablespoons sifted cocoa powder (to coat the pan)
1-2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces melted semisweet chocolate
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/3 cups water
1 tablespoon cold coffee
1 tablespoon orange zest
Your favorite frosting or glaze
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350⁰ F.
2. Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan and dust with cocoa powder.
3. In a large mixing bowl add the sugar, eggs and orange extract beat at high speed for 3 minutes, until nice and light.
4. Add the mayonnaise and melted chocolate; beat on low until well blended.
5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
6. In another separate bowl, mix together the water with the coffee and orange zest.
7. Add the flour alternately with the water mixture to the chocolate mixture in four additions, beating well after each addition.
8. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan.
9. Bake the cake batter for 45 minutes until the cake tester comes out clean.
10. Cool the baked cake on a wire rack.
11. Glaze or frost the cooled cake as desired.

ChefSecrets:  The frosting versus icing battle has been going on for years. Though it may seem the choice to say that you want cake with frosting or cake with icing is similar, the truth is frosting and icing just aren't the same thing, no matter how you look at it.
 
Briefly, frosting is most identifiable by its thick and fluffy consistency. Because frosting holds its shape and is opaque in color, you'll see it often used and called for when you are decorating cakes and cupcakes. Unlike frosting, icing is thinner, glossier and flows more due to its consistency. It's great for drizzling. Icing doesn't hold its shape like frosting and is regularly used in decorating as an accent to its frosting counterpart (a drizzle on top of a layer of frosting, for example). It is also used as the sole decoration or coating for pastries or donuts. Got it?

Quip of the Day: “In case you never thought about it, “bakers make the world smell better.”
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.

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                                                                               ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023

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