Cooking Through Magnolia Table In A Year: Week 10

Dense, yet extremely moist, this Chocolate Cola Cake is a solid chocolate cake. While I had always heard of but never tried a Chocolate Cola Cake, I was very excited to bring on this new cake adventure. As this cake was very easy to make and does not have to be refrigerated, it is a great option to take if you are traveling, bringing someone a meal, or adventuring on a picnic. Very hearty, the Chocolate Cola Cake does not have a strong Cola flavor, but instead has a chocolatey flavor that leans more towards the sweet side than the dark rich side. Based on its moist and dense interior, it likely could serve even more than 12 people as several in our crowd could not finish their entire piece, even when wanting to. Overall, we were pleased with this cake creation and if you are looking for an easy dessert to serve a group, this cake would be right up your alley.

Crowd Average Rating:

With a strong average rating of a 7.5, this Chocolate Cola Cake is a great basic chocolate cake. As one of our most consistently rated recipes across the board, the cake gained many 7 and 8 ratings without much deviation, which is quite impressive knowing the variety of individual palates that enjoyed this dessert. While it is delicious and very moist, there is not much variation within your bites, so I believe having another texture (like ice cream) would be a great addition to prevent your piece from becoming monotonous. Honestly though, who ever needs an excuse to add ice cream to your cake? This likely is a suggestion that most have already tried!

As I can struggle with the texture of some casseroles, I was slightly hesitant regarding this recipe. To my pleasant surprise however, this Creamy Squash Casserole had a wonderful texture and was very flavorful. Savory from the green chiles and slightly crunchy from the cracker topping, the casserole had a lovely soft base contrasted with its golden-brown top that made it a delicious casserole option. While I like the taste of squash, this recipe likely would appeal even to those who don’t, as the flavor was largely influenced by the green chiles. Very easy to make and even delicious to reheat as leftovers, I would recommend providing this casserole in a potluck or even as part of a meal taken to a friend in need.

Crowd Average Rating:

While an average rating of a 6 might not be the rating you would expect from a recipe recommended for a potluck, I believe the Creamy Squash Casserole has room for improvement that would make it a great option. I certainly enjoyed the flavor of the casserole, however both Charlie and I were surprised at the way the cheese was integrated into the dish. Perhaps I did not cut small enough cubes, but the cheese did not really meld into the rest of the dish, and we would come upon larger clumps of cheese that seemed a little of a disconnect to the casserole. I believe this would be easily remedied however through either integrating very small cubes of cheese, or just by grating the Velveeta so that it provides a more consistent textural base.

• All-purpose flour
• Brown sugar
• Butter
• Chocolate chips
• Baking soda
• Macaroni
• Eggs
• Vanilla

• Heavy cream
• Ground pepper
• Kosher salt
• Gruyere cheese
• Mustard powder
• Nutmeg
• Velveeta
• White cheddar cheese

• Garlic
• Panko bread crumbs
• Bacon
• Green cabbage
• Onion
• Honeycrisp apple
• Apple cider vinegar