Easy to use recipe, very forgiving to overbaking -- I baked until it cracked several times and it was still moist. I actually decreased the amount of sugar to a cup then made a quick icing (3 TB of butter, 1.5 cups or so of icing, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, splash of vanilla, milk to thick consistency) to give the bright sugary burst to complement a deep chocolate flavored base.

Reviewed On: Apr. 23, 2010

Delicious -- very moist, good flavor, holds up well next day, and can can be made much healthier without it *tasting* healthier. I replaced the 1 c veg oil with a cup of fresh apple sauce (just blended up 2 apples, peels on) and a splash of oil. Decreased the 2 1/4 cup sugar to a bit over 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar (taste the batter to get a sense) and will decrease the sugar some more next time. Replaced the AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour I also toss the blueberries in a bit of flour before adding them to help keep them distributed throughout the batter. I baked them up as muffins in the same temp oven but obviously shorter time.

Reviewed On: Jul. 31, 2008

Very, very good. A huge hit at a party -- almost everyone had a slice despite the abundance of other available dishes. No one could tell what the "special" ingredient was until many hints were made. I boiled pinto beans in just water until it had absorbed almost all the water and mashed roughly. I added dried pears to the mix and toasted walnuts. I replaced 1/4 cup of white flour with graham and used two egg whites instead of one. I made the glaze from a tablespoon of milk, a cup of powdered sugar, and some lemon and orange zest. I'm making another cake now, but, because I ran out of ingredients, am substituting a lot. We'll see how it goes -- I'm replacing 1/2 cup of white raisins with guava fruit rolls, half the flour with graham, and 1/4 of of the pinto beans with azuki (red) beans. I also added a bit of nutmeg and more cloves to the recipe. Note that standard toothpick test does *not* work on this recipe because of the beans. I initially undercooked the cake and discovered that when I started cutting in. Bake for the full time, even if the top starts to crack. I served the cake upside down -- the nice golden brown, even surface was easier to glaze and so pretty.

Reviewed On: Dec. 19, 2007