Mud, Monuments and Memorials

Mississippi Mud Cake. What is that? Mississippi mud cake has a pecan studded brownie like base, then a layer of marshmallows and then it's covered in a layer of sweet chocolaty frosting that is similar to the frosting on a chocolate sheet cake. Sounds good huh? This cake was baked by The Cake Slice Bakers and comes from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott.

This is the recipe that made me want to buy this book. I remember browsing through it at Borders and drooling over the photo in the cookbook. It lingered in my mind and eventually I went back to get it. So I was thrilled when The Cake Slice Bakers voted it as their cake of choice for February. I made this for Valentine's Dinner at my mom's last week. One slice is so rich and sweet we didn't even eat a 1/4 of the recipe between 7 of us. So I would suggest baking half the recipe in an 8x8 inch pan.

This cake wasn't as spectacular as I hoped it would have been. It was good but I did not care for the cake aspect of this recipe. It was essentially an unleavened chocolate cake, similar in form to a brownie (not fudgey) but dense and somewhat dry and wasn't very flavorful. In all fairness I did cut back on the sugar a bit in the cake since the frosting was so sweet. I would try this again with a brownie base or a different cake recipe and I would halve the amount of frosting. This cake was firm but gooey, sticky and sweet. If you're a fan of SUGAR, chocolate and marshmallows then this cake is for you!

Mississippi Mud Cake from Southern Cakes Printable Version

For the Cake:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into big chunks
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 4 eggs, beaten well
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups sugar
• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

For the Frosting:

• 16 oz. or 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups mini marshmallows

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan. In a medium saucepan combine the butter and cocoa powder and cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the butter is melted and the mixture is well blended, about 3 – 4 minutes (I did this in the microwave). Stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour, salt and pecans and beat until the batter is well combined and the flour has disappeared.

Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cake springs back when touched gently in the center and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.

While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting so it is ready to pour over the hot cake. (I suggest doing this right before the cake is done so the frosting doesn't set up in the bowl).

In a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder and stir to mix well. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla and beat everything together well. Set aside until the cake is done.

Remove the cake from the oven, scatter the marshmallows over the top and then return the cake to the hot oven for about 3 minutes to soften the marshmallows.

Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack. Pour the frosting all over the marshmallow dotted cake and eat right away or allow to cool to room temperature. Cut the cake into squares and serve.

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Here are more pictures of Memorials and Monuments in the DC area. It snowed all day Friday and Saturday that we were there, but on Sunday (Superbowl Sunday!) it was a gorgeous day. We called a cab to take us to brunch but he never showed up so the hotel called a private driver who was close by to drive us around. It just so happens that he does private tours so he drove us around DC for 4 hours! He was so knowledgeable and such an intelligent man. He was an amazing tour guide and we're glad our paths crossed. I'm also glad we went on such a beautiful day. There were clear sunny skies and the snow glistened like glitter. Someone said it sparkled like diamonds and I think I like that analogy much better :-)

This is the Washington Monument. Notice the difference in color in the stone about a quarter of the way up? Well that's because they ran out of money when they were building it! When they later had enough funds to finish the monument they returned to the same quarry and purchased the same kind of stone only later to realize that the newer batch did not quite match so they're different colors.

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This is the Jefferson Memorial. We did not get to get up close and personal with President Jefferson since the memorial was closed. The pathways leading up to it were covered in snow but we admired it from afar. The picture above is the front and the picture below is the backside. There is a huge statue of Jefferson that stands in the center of the monument that we could see as we drove around it but it's not visible from these views.

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This is the Lincoln Memorial. We were able to get pretty close to the memorial but we weren't allowed to walk up the steps that led to the famous President sitting in a giant chair since they were also covered in snow. Imagine that?! At the top of the memorial above the columns are all the 50 states. Texas is on the front side on the left, right next to Florida. Ingrid we're neighbors after all :-)

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This is the Supreme Court, which is right across from the Capitol. It has a gorgeous golden door at the entrance.

And finally the US Capitol. We were able to walk up the steps all the way up to the front, then across and back down. There were people on the lawn in skis going down the hill as well as families on sleds. They looked like they were having fun. why not? BTW, did you know that the Texas Capitol is the only state capitol that is taller than the US capitol by about 15 feet? You know what they say...Everything is bigger in Texas!

I have more photos for you that I'll share over time unless you're getting bored already :-) Enjoy!