Mashed potato chocolate cake

There are cakes I dream of making again.  Cakes from long ago.  Cake I still remember with delight.  Take for instance a cake I made soon after leaving school.  A mashed potato chocolate cake.  It made my siblings shudder in horror.  That amused me.  I found that the mashed potato gave it a lovely soft texture.  These days I make many fancier cakes.  Yet I have dreamt of this cake for age.  It should be the cake that stands tall and proud in a photo rather than falling flat on its face.  However it seems fate has a sense of humour too.

Earlier this week we had a lovely dinner of spaghetti squash, veg spag bol sauce, steamed broccoli and mashed potato.  It reminded me of the meals my mum used to serve us as kids.  High on comfort.  I made lots of mashed potato.  It seemed the perfect time to bake the mashed potato cake.  So yesterday while our paintings were still drying, I got out my old Women's Weekly cookbook.

The cake is made in a 20 cm ring tin.  I don't use my ring tin often these days.  It got more outings years ago when I had less variety of cake tins.  I might have bought this cake tin many years ago but I have a feeling my mum just found it in her kitchen and gave it to me.

The icing was runnier than it looks on the photo in the cookbook.  Perhaps it was because I used margarine or couldn't be bothered washing the electric beaters to make the icing.  We decorated the cake with M and Ms.  My sister won a year's supply of M and Ms recently so all the family has been rolling in them.  Well, almost!  My brother-in-law says he would have needed far more M and Ms than she got to have a year's worth.  Sylvia loved decorating the cake.

Then I had a great idea to put the plate on a cake stand and photograph it outside.  I put the cake by the table and propped it up because the table was on a lean.  Suddenly the table lurched.  It knocked the cake.  The cake flew threw the air and landed wrong side down.  Sylvia and I laughed hysterically.  Then she screamed when she realised that it was on the ground.  I picked up the car crash cake, took a photo and ate a slice.  It tasted so good.

Last night Sylvia and I drove down to Geelong for dinner for my nephew's birthday dinner.  We took him some cake.  I mentioned to my sisters that the cake had mashed potato in it.  They shuddered.  Seems my family's tastes haven't moved on as much as I thought it had.  Ironic really, given that the cake reminded me of my mum's chocolate cake.  I didn't mention the mashed potato to my brother.  Thought it best not to. 

Meanwhile Sylvia thought I was joking when I first said that I was adding mashed potato to a cake.  It didn't take me long to convince her.  And my mashed potato only had carbs, margarine and salt.  Nothing you wouldn't usually put in a cake.  I thought pepper might be a bit too much for Sylvia.  Luckily she is more open minded than most of my family.  (Well she does see lots of different dishes even if she rejects most of them.) 

Today we got back from a day of craft with her friends at the Immigration Museum.  It was really cold and windy.  We were tired.  That cake tasted so good.  I think we were both sad to finish it.  E got home and asked if there was any left.  Nope and the rest of the mashed potato went into potato scones.  I must make that cake again soon.

I am sending this cake to No Waste Food Challenge - hosted by Anne's Kitchen and coordinated by Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Turtles and Pikelets - with gf buckwheat option
Two years ago: Sam Stern's Lancashire Burgers
Three years ago: Cookie wands
Four years ago: Falafel for E, Pizza for Sylvia
Five years ago: Slideshows, Nostalgia and Hedgehog
Six years ago: Curious Chipotles and Bonza Burritos
Seven years ago: PPN#19: You say tuna, I say tempeh!

Mashed potato chocolate cake
From Australian Women's Weekly Cakes and Slices Cookbook

125g butter (I used margarine)
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup mashed potato
1 1/4 cup self raising flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup milk (I used soy)

Frosting:
90g softened butter (I used margarine)
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 heaped tbsp cocoa
1-2 tbsp milk (I used soy)

Grease and line a 20cm ring tin.  Preheat oven to 180 C.  Cream butter and sugar (I used electric beaters), then beat in eggs one at a time.  Fold in mashed potato, cocoa, 1/2 cup flour and half of the milk.  Fold in remaining flour and milk.  Evenly spoon mixture into prepared tin and smooth on top.  Bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly.  Rest 5 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the frosting cream the butter, beat in the icing sugar, cocoa and 1 tbsp of milk to make a spreadable mixture.  Add extra tbsp of milk if required.  I did this by hand but electric beaters are best to get a creamy icing.  Spread icing over cooled cake.  [Decorate if desired.]

On the Stereo:
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