We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day a bit early. My son-in-law, Ryan, invited us over to his house for Sunday dinner, and we enjoyed the usual corned beef and cabbage in honor of the holiday. I was asked to make dessert, and when I asked Eva her preference, she asked for a chocolate fudge cake.

The family isn’t real big dessert eaters, so I knew I didn’t want to make a big cake. I have a great book called Snacking Cakes, which never lets me down when it comes to making an interesting cake that you can make in one round layer, a loaf pan, or in a 9″ square pan. This book is so handy for a household of just two people, or for when you have to come up with a homemade dessert for a small group.

This recipe was called Fudgy Chocolate Cake, and took no time at all to put together. I used a recipe for Fluffy White Frosting and sprinkled it liberally with green sprinkles to match the occasion. It lived up to its title and was deliciously chocolatey and fudgy. The recipe called for Dutch-processed cocoa powder and some espresso, so you know it meant business.

I am trying very hard to stay away from processed foods (such as cake mixes), and have learned pretty quickly that it isn’t much more time-consuming or difficult to make a simple cake from scratch. Honestly, you basically just have to add your own baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla! And voila, no chemicals, fillers, or weird preservatives.

I hope you all had a great weekend. I got in quite a bit of sewing on various projects, which I plan to share later this week. Our weather is full fledged Spring, and with the onset of Daylight Savings, we are really enjoying our outside time. I know that so many of you are still experiencing snowstorms, and my sympathy is with you.