My Mom's Recipe Notebook | Happy <3 Day!

Cake Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup plain yogurt

2 cups flour

1/2 cup veg oil

2 egg whites

3 tbsp cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

Sauce Ingredients

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Cream Ingredients

4 tbsp flour

2 tbsp sugar

2 cups milk

2 egg yolks

1 cup warm water

1 stick of butter

1 cup powder sugar 

Overview

Oh, Valentine's Day! Such a polarizing day, isn't it? Some love it, others loathe it. I still can't make up my mind. I like the idea of celebrating a relationship, but I hate the idea of falling into a commercialization trap. 

So my way of rebelling, yet not really, is to celebrate at home (and no presents, just food)! I also like a good challenge so this year, I made the hardest yet most delicious recipe I could find in my mom's recipe notebook.

Fair warning: this is a tough one to make. But, that said, it is well worth it for a special day. In regards to giving you a taste review, I will follow up tomorrow, after the recipient has had a chance to enjoy it! 

Baking time: 35 minutes; Overall prep time: close to two hours

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix yogurt and baking soda. Then add flour, sugar, eggs, oil and mix well. Lastly, add cocoa. Oil a baking pan (I used heart-shaped ones for the occasion) and pour mixture in. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Now you are done with the easiest part of this recipe.

Let cool and make sure you puncture the entire cake with a fork to allow for the sauce to go through entirely later on. 

To make the sauce, boil one cup of water and one cup of sugar for about 4 minutes. Pour over cake. Let cool completely.

To make the cream (certainly the trickiest yet most delicious part), combine milk, flour, sugar, yolks and water in a saucepan over medium heat (as a side note, before pouring into saucepan, make sure you beat the yolks in the cup of warm water - this makes sure your cream is nice and smooth). Stir constantly for a good 20 minutes (it will take you 10 to bring to a boil and another ten to reduce). It is critical you do not let it burn at the bottom of the saucepan so keep on stirring! Once that is done, in another bowl, beat butter and powder sugar until somewhat combined. Combine this mixture with your hot cream. 

Pour the entire goodness over your cooled cakes and let cool completely. On top, feel free to add walnuts (I usually do - to simulate love, you know - sweet yet nutty).

Stick the resulting cake in the fridge until cold and serve. And I promise, you will not be disappointed!!

PS: Why Annie Cake? I asked my mom (that is the name of the recipe in the book). Apparently, in the good old 70's and 80's in Bulgaria, the only way to get new recipes was done via your social network (aka friends/colleagues). So, this cake came from Annie. I know... such a good story, huh? :)

Happy Love Day!!