A sudden, overwhelming craving for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles led to the creation of a small-format, mostly one-bowl cake designed to be made and eaten on impulse. The recipe, which the author calls the "I Want Chocolate Cake Cake," is scaled to one-eighth of a sheet pan and uses cocoa and unsweetened chocolate for an intense flavor, butter in both the cake and frosting, and a quick preparation method.
The craving struck about six weeks before the article was written, around 9 p.m. on a day when the author had eaten very little. She describes the feeling not as a simple want but as an urgent need, one that made her regret every cupcake shop she had passed and every beater of chocolate buttercream she had not licked. When she asked her husband why they had no chocolate cake, he replied, "because you haven't made any?"
The author notes that she had recently warned she might dedicate her column to categories involving butter, bread, peanut butter, or chocolate. While her interest in most foods has returned, her devotion to those categories has not faded. The recipe is presented as the promised answer to that craving.
The cake is described as a smaller version of the author's New York Sheet Cake. It is intense because of the cocoa and unsweetened chocolate, rich because of the butter, and small enough that it does not linger. The author says it is easy to make and mostly one-bowl, for both cake and frosting.
The article also lists recipes from previous years, including Morning Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel, French Onion Tart, Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese, Pina Colada Cake, Thick Chewy Granola Bars, Arroz Con Leche, Soft Pretzel Refresh, Meatball Sliders, Escarole and Orzo Soup with Meatballs, and Baked Tomato Sauce. Other recipes mentioned are Strawberries and Cream with Graham Crumbles, Key Lime Popsicles, Leek Chard and Corn Flatbread, and Naked Tomato Sauce.
Editorial Notes