OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CAKE

On Saturday night (the night of the dessert auction) I received a text message from a good friend of ours that included this picture, to let me know that my cake sold for $150 at the auction!! OMGOODNESS. 100% of the proceeds go to Jericho Road, so I am SO thrilled I could help out, even though I couldn't be at the action myself. Get the recipe for my Oatmeal Chocolate Cake here!

RECIPE: OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CAKE

Made this today for the Jericho Road pasta dinner and dessert auction which will be held tomorrow. I made my very favourite cake: Oatmeal Chocolate Cake - a recipe I got from one of Mark's former high school teachers.  I lent my camera to my parents, so these pictures have been taken with my BlackBerry. Anyway, this is the first time I've ever tried to make a cake look a little fancy. Not too shabby I'd say! I used this tutorial that I found on Pinterest for the icing. It was pretty easy to do! I don't have any special cake icing utensils, so I simply stuffed a bunch of icing in a large Ziploc bag, tied an elastic tight around the top, and cut a teeny hole in the corner. Worked like a charm (DIY here). Anyway, here's the super simple recipe. You're going to LOVE this cake. (I doubled the recipe for the cake shown in the pictures, and stuffed the middle perimeter with raspberries, and topped it off with some more!)

Oatmeal Chocolate Cake

1/2 C oatmeal

1/2 C butter (cut in small chunks)

1 C boiling water

2 eggs, well beaten

1 1/2 C brown sugar

1 C flour

4 Tbsp cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, pour boiling water over oatmeal and butter. Mix well, ensuring butter is completely melted.

2. Beat eggs, add brown sugar and all other ingredients. Mix, mix, mix!

3. Bake at 350F in a 9x9 inch pan for 40 minutes.

Icing

1/4 C softened butter

3 C icing sugar

2-3 Tbsp cocoa

2 Tbsp milk

Blend!

RECIPE: BLACK BEAN QUESADILLAS

1. I made quesadillas for the first time... (on our portable burners of course) and they were AMAZING! (recipe below)

2. I also roasted red peppers for the first time (in our convection toaster oven) and they also turned out great! They went into the quesadillas.

3. My old & horrible can opener finally broke... so I got a new one. IT IS INCREDIBLE. And comes with a 3-year warranty! I like that.

Rebecca's Black Bean Quesadillas

2 Tbsp oil

1 medium onion

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 can black beans

1 roasted red pepper, chopped

4 (10 inch) tortillas

1 C chedder, shredded (maybe more...)

4 Tbsp fresh garden salsa (I used the kind from FarmBoy)

2 Tbsp fresh basil, torn

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, torn

fresh lemon juice

1 avocado, sliced

(FYI... I kind of winged this recipe so all amounts are approximate)

1. Heat oil in pan over med-high heat.

2. Add onions & sauté until caramelized, set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix garlic, black beans, roasted red peppers, basil, cilantro, and caramelized onions. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice to taste.

4. Place tortilla in pan, sprinkle part of the cheese over half of the tortilla, then top with bean mixture and salsa. Top with more cheese.

5. Fold the tortilla in half covering the filling and cook until the quesadilla is golden brown on both sides & cheese is melted. 

6. Slice each quesadilla in 3 triangle pieces and serve with an avocado slice garnish. (I really liked the avocado on top, but my husband would have preferred it stuffed inside the quesadilla. Or you could always make some guacamole! Your call!)

Enjoy!