Sauerkraut Cake with Mocha Whipped Cream Frosting

As I have mentioned before, Mom often did not inform us kids of the actual name of the dish or of certain ingredients in the recipe. She knew that we would not even try something if we thought it was weird. It could only take one of us to reject a dish before the rest of us might not even try it. I don't blame Mom; sometimes ignorance is bliss. While celebrating a lovely Mother's Day recently, we all enjoyed the delicious Portillo's chocolate cake.  As we were talking about how good the cake was, someone mentioned that the secret ingredient that made it so moist was mayonnaise. A quick google search will confirm that everyone talks about how good the Portillo's cake is and that the secret is mayonnaise. Then, Mom mentioned that she used to make a chocolate cake with sauerkraut. Everyone was shocked, but I had seen the recipe in Mom's recipe box, so I knew of the recipe. I didn't realize, however, that I had eaten it.

When Memorial Day came around, I told Mom that I would make the sauerkraut cake, but that we shouldn't tell anyone what was in it. So we just said that it was chocolate cake with mocha whipped cream frosting (which is specifically called for on Mom's recipe card). Some folks remembered the conversation from Mother's Day and were able to guess what was in it. But everyone who tried the cake liked it. This Memorial Day, Kal joined our family get-together and, as you can see, he enjoyed the cake. The sauerkraut adds texture and moisture to the cake. But, you would never guess that the secret ingredient was sauerkraut.

Sauerkraut Cake

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 thoroughly rinsed sauerkraut

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well-blended. Add vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with water into the egg mixture and blend well. After rinsing the sauerkraut, finely chop it, then add it into the cake mix and blend well.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Allow to cool before frosting.

Mocha Whipped Cream Frosting

• 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp. instant coffee
• 2 tsp. cocoa
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Whip the cream until starting to stiffen. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until soft peaks form. Frost the cake. Enjoy!