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Chocolate cake with mayonnaise


rajsuman

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When I first read about adding mayonnaise to a chocolate cake, I was horrified :shock: but then, and upon further reflection, I regained my composure and reconsidered .. what is mayonnaise but mostly oil and eggs which are already being added to most chocolate cakes anyway ... and I breathed a sigh of relief! :laugh: but dumping a dollop of actual mayonnaise into the mix would still alarm me on some level ...

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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I've never made one of these cakes, but I've tasted them plenty of times, and they're just fine. I'm 50, and they've been around since I was a young child at least, and probably longer than that. From what I remember, mayonnaise cakes are really moist, probably due to all that fat.

I don't know if anybody's ever researched and/or written much about it, but there seems to be a history among American women (that's a generalization) of experimenting with putting unusual things in cakes. I have a feeling that cake mix companies have been part of that effort, too. But over the years, I've seen a lot of seemingly unlikely ingredients mixed into a cake at one time or another. Part of it is probably due to "making do" with whatever ingredients you have on hand. I assume the mayonnaise cake came out of this uh...? tradition?

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Mayo in chocolate cake is not a new idea. My grandmother used to make one (she passed away about 20 years ago). Exactly as Melissa said - it's really just eggs and oil. It keeps the cake moist.

Having said that, I hate mayo. I don't want any part of this!

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Try it! It is wonderful...you won't even taste the mayonnaise. In fact, whenever I make it -- usually for birthdays -- I don't even tell anyone it has mayonnaise in it until AFTER they rave! A good fluffy chocolate frosting works great with it, too. Three layers of good old-fashioned chocolate cake. yummy.

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i know that the cake bible has a recipe for it too- berenbaum says great things about it. while i do not doubt the tastiness of the cake, i just can't see myself putting it into a cake mix. i know, get over my own irrational self. :smile:

Edited by VenerableBede (log)
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As pointed out, this is not a new idea, but I would only make it with homemade mayo using a neutral oil such as canola.  My $.02.

I'd actually go the other way and say not to bother using a homemade mayo. Why bother? Save your arm muscles or electricity because any subtleties in the mayo are completely and totally lost under chocolate and cake yumminess. YMMV.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Our family uses a recipe that has sour cream in it! It makes a very moist chocolate cake, and I'm sure that's just what the mayo does... you definitely can't tell that our cake has sour cream in it by the flavor.

"Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland." ~Roger Ebert

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Our family uses a recipe that has sour cream in it!  It makes a very moist chocolate cake, and I'm sure that's just what the mayo does... you definitely can't tell that our cake has sour cream in it by the flavor.

Do you use baking soda for the rise?

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The Rose Levy Beranbaum chocolate mayonnaise cake is great for making cupcakes for school events and the like. The cake is very tasty; the ingredients are almost always on hand; the preparation is super easy. By the way, I've most often used Cain's, which has no preservatives or other artificial ingredients.

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I don't know if anybody's ever researched and/or written much about it, but there seems to be a history among American women (that's a generalization) of experimenting with putting unusual things in cakes.  I have a feeling that cake mix companies have been part of that effort, too.  But over the years, I've seen  a lot of seemingly unlikely ingredients mixed into a cake at one time or another.  Part of it is probably due to "making do" with whatever ingredients you have on hand.  I assume the mayonnaise cake came out of this uh...? tradition?

I think there's actually been quite a bit written on this and the history of American home baking in general...here are some links to some nifty-looking books from Amazon!

Something From the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950's America

Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food

"We had dry martinis; great wing-shaped glasses of perfumed fire, tangy as the early morning air." - Elaine Dundy, The Dud Avocado

Queenie Takes Manhattan

eG Foodblogs: 2006 - 2007

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This is coming from a dedicated mayo-phobe...

My mom always used mayo and so do I. I really like it. We substitute the mayo for whatever amount of oil is suggested. It does make for an extremely moist cake and, perhaps it's simply the power of suggestion, but I always think that I detect a little tanginess. If you haven't tried it, just do it. I think you'll really be surprised.

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This is coming from a dedicated mayo-phobe...

My mom always used mayo and so do I.  I really like it.  We substitute the mayo for whatever amount of oil is suggested.  It does make for an extremely moist cake and, perhaps it's simply the power of suggestion, but I always think that I detect a little tanginess.  If you haven't tried it, just do it.  I think you'll really be surprised.

lesfen, when you sub the mayo for the oil, do you still use the same amount of eggs?

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actually ive known about this one for years as well..courtesy of my grandmother...she pretty much lived through the depression and when they had no eggs or oil on hand they used mayo....i used to think that was kind of an odd thing to use for a cake...until i tried it..and it was wonderful..you cant taste it and im really not a big fan of mayo either...im sure we would all be surprised at what other things they came up with durign the depression to substitute one thing for another when something was not on hand in other dishes

a recipe is merely a suggestion

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I have a recipe for both chocolate and banana cake made with mayo but not from a mix....both are super easy and for aout 2 years in the lates 70's I think we had them twice a week

Life! what's life!? Just natures way of keeping meat fresh - Dr. who

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This is coming from a dedicated mayo-phobe...

My mom always used mayo and so do I.  I really like it.  We substitute the mayo for whatever amount of oil is suggested.  It does make for an extremely moist cake and, perhaps it's simply the power of suggestion, but I always think that I detect a little tanginess.  If you haven't tried it, just do it.  I think you'll really be surprised.

lesfen, when you sub the mayo for the oil, do you still use the same amount of eggs?

You betcha.

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Do you think that oil and egg will make the same cake whether or not the oil droplets have been emulsified in egg yolk? Or do you think the mayo cake comes out differently from an oil and egg cake, assuming both cakes use the same amount of oil and egg? Maybe the extra-moist character of the mayo cake really comes from the large amount of oil you're adding thru the mayo, not from the fact that it's mayo.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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Do you think that oil and egg will make the same cake whether or not the oil droplets have been emulsified in egg yolk?  Or do you think the mayo cake comes out differently from an oil and egg cake, assuming both cakes use the same amount of oil and egg?  Maybe the extra-moist character of the mayo cake really comes from the large amount of oil you're adding thru the mayo, not from the fact that it's mayo.

To-may-to, to-mah-to... it's yummy! :raz:

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My grandmother's cookbook has a hand written Mayonnaise Cake recipe in it. I have been making this for years and years and it's one of our favorites.

My recipe is slightly different than the one on the Hellman's site but the idea is the same. It makes a very tasty, moist cake. I always bake it in a 9x13 pan. It comes out with a beautiful, shiny top so I have never frosted it.

Mayonnaise Cake

I once made this while a friend was visiting. After I served it I noticed the that he was crumbling the cake all over his plate. When I asked why, he said said he was looking for the mayonnaise. :unsure:

Edited by BarbaraY (log)
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A co-worker inherited her grandmother's (does anyone else sense a theme here?) recipe book and most of the cakes are mayo-based. She'll bake a cake and bring them in for staff birthdays and I can attest that they are delicious and usually quite moist.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Do you think that oil and egg will make the same cake whether or not the oil droplets have been emulsified in egg yolk?  Or do you think the mayo cake comes out differently from an oil and egg cake, assuming both cakes use the same amount of oil and egg?  Maybe the extra-moist character of the mayo cake really comes from the large amount of oil you're adding thru the mayo, not from the fact that it's mayo.

To-may-to, to-mah-to... it's yummy! :raz:

It will remain yummy even if we understand how it works.

I looked on the web for some scientific explanation, and didn't find any. But I did find a link to this Cherry Cola-Chocolate-Mayonnaise-Sauerkraut Bundt Cake! Who wants to try it out??

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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