A Recipe for Vodka Cake
Published January 18, 2012
If the title of this cake inspires visions of your mother looking very much like Miss Hannigan (from the musical “Annie”), walking around with her hair in curlers and a cigarette in hand, demanding, “Where’s my Vodka Cake?” it’s not my fault. I didn’t invent it. Nor did I give your mother permission to walk around like that.
Likewise, if you see the ingredients for this cake and have a hissy fit that’s it’s not *GASP* made from scratch (I totally store-bought everything), I offer no defense. I simply suggest that you hitch up your big girl panties and belly-flop into what will be the best dessert you’ve had in an uber long time. (Which, let’s face it, shouldn’t be hard seeing as it’s got gobs of chocolate and a cup of alcohol in it.)
It’s my new favorite for parties, meetings, and book clubs. That’s actually how I stumbled upon it—my book club went for the Southern theme this month (thanks to our reading of Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help”), and since it was at my house, I needed to come up with a better-than-fabulous dessert (those ladies are hard to keep up with—they’re serious about their books, but nearly rabid about their cakes).
So like any good book club hostess, I pulled out my recipe book for Southern funerals (which, incidentally, my mother gave me) titled “Being Dead is No Excuse, The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral,” and there within discovered this tasty gem. If you don’t own the book, I suggest you buy it. A good trove of recipes that work for both book clubs AND funerals is hard to find.
Did I mention this cake’s got vodka, Kahlua, and chocolate in it?
I’ve pasted the recipe link below, but before you rush off, leave us a comment on what new book (or foodie) treasure YOU’VE been into these days. ;0)
Here’s how you make it: A Recipe for Vodka Cake
Today’s mood noise? Miss Hannigan played by the fabulous Carol Burnett
Tags: Annie, Being Dead is No Excuse, book club, book club reading list, book club recipes, carol burnett, Kathryn Stockett, Miss Hannigan, Reading Recipes, recipes, southern ladies guide to hosting the perfect funeral, The Help, vodka cake
01.18.2012 / 9:55 am
Uhhhh… the alcohol cooks off, right? Because at 8 months pregnant, I seriously fantasize about alcohol and how much I will joyfully consume in 4 weeks, but can I haz some NOW?! =D
I’m currently indulging in some seriously DARK romantic fiction about a smoking hot avenging angel. The theology is very Catholic, the sex scenes are decidedly NOT Catholic, and I’m enjoying every second with a bowl of dark-chocolate-and-peanut-butter M&M’s and a mocha. =}
01.18.2012 / 10:13 am
Four WEEKS?! You’re so close to holding your sweet baby girl!!! Yay! And in the meantime, yes, the alcohol cooks off. So enjoy it to your heart’s content. The vodka and coffee-flavored Kahlua enhance the chocolate in a decidedly delicious sort of way, leaving it rich and full. (And seriously good.) I suspect it’ll go perfectly with your dark paranormal and mocha. :0)
01.18.2012 / 10:41 am
I know this is a dumb question, but is there any chance you can make a sugar free version?Consider it a “thank you for this awesome book” gift.
Your churchy mother
01.18.2012 / 10:42 am
Ok this sounds scrumptious! I <3 kahlua.
01.18.2012 / 10:44 am
Mom: Ha! Let’s see…that would involve me making it “from scratch.” Hmm… Oh fine, let me give it a try. ;0) (And thanks for the book!)
Juju: I think coffee and chocolate are the two best flavors in the universe! :0)
01.18.2012 / 11:31 am
I knew at some point I would end up having a pity party over the chocolate allergy I developed 11 months and 2 days ago. Yep, this is the day. This recipe looks and sounds so wickedly delicious it may just be worth dying for… it is a funeral cake, after all
01.18.2012 / 11:42 am
Oh Mary Beth, that IS sad!!! I will mourn your chocolate loss with you. And you are hilarious; thanks for the giggle!
01.19.2012 / 12:56 pm
This looks good, but I’m not a big cake or chocolate fan. Only kind of cake I really love is strawberry shortcake. I wonder how this would taste in a lemon! And you’re bringing back memories with Annie. I love that movie, it was on the other day.
01.19.2012 / 7:18 pm
Yum! This looks too good.
01.19.2012 / 7:26 pm
Jade, I love strawberry shortcake :0). And this cake in lemon makes me think of limoncello, which would seriously rock as a cake. Hmm… *brain cells clicking*
Kelly, I’m not gonna lie. It’s pretty amazing.
01.19.2012 / 9:08 pm
Oh my goodness gracious me. Excuse my while I rush out to buy all these ingredients like now!
01.20.2012 / 9:07 am
Ohhh… now that’s a recipe I’d go for in a heartbeat. (Chocolate and vodka? Bliss.)
And, I have two thank yous. I had totally forgotten I wanted to read “Being Dead is No Excuse…” Thanks for reminding me. I think I bought it for my mother (we have this history of funerals and giggle fits – no really, it’s funny, not evil), and I just sent her an email asking if I could borrow it!
And Carol Burnett is up there with funniest women of all time (along with Lucy and Betty White, of course). Thanks for sharing the video. I saw that version of Annie when it came out. I remember my mother taking me to the theater, and then buying me the soundtrack ALBUM. Wow… good memories.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! PS, if you are looking for a wonderful lemon dessert for a future book club, try this one (just made it this week) for Lemon Pudding Cakes: http://www.marthastewart.com/873677/lemon-pudding-cakes
It’s amazing! (And leftovers in ramekins are good chilled!) Happy Friday!
01.21.2012 / 2:14 am
Wow, I don’t know anyone can possibly go wrong with this cake. Helps that I’m a fan of Vodka and Kahlua:) Thanks for sharing.
01.21.2012 / 2:46 pm
Kristen, so I might’ve made the cake twice in two days, and then picked up ingredients for a third. Ahem. *sheepishly averts eyes*
Tracy, thanks for the lemon link! And yes on Carol Burnett (so awesome), and I love that you and your mom have a giggly-funeral-thing. Oh, and what a special memory about seeing Annie with her! Love that.
Tania, I agree. There is no going wrong. Only very, very right. ;0)
01.21.2012 / 3:37 pm
Wow. What a great sounding cake! And it even looks easy to make. I love the idea of doing it with lemon cake and limoncello. Hmmmm.
I just finished reading Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby. What a fun book. Hornby, who wrote About a Boy and High Fidelity, writes spot-on portraits of every bad boyfriend you ever had. This one is about a has-been rock star and his Internet geek groupies, who are obsessed with his life and work and get everything wrong.
01.21.2012 / 4:09 pm
This cake looks amazing and sounds delicious. I think the title of the book it came from is great! I love the musical, Annie- so I really enjoyed the clip. I just read a middle grade novel, Pie by Sarah Weeks, not too long ago and it made me really want to whip up a pie!! Thanks for sharing!
01.22.2012 / 5:53 pm
This is FABULOUS> I can testify. It is amazing and everyone should go out and try it. Right. Now.
As for books – I did just finish Shatter Me after reading your last review, and honestly, it was so good I’m nervous I won’t read a better one all year!
Now I have to impatiently wait for the next one to come out…