Mississippi Mud Cake

From: "Omaha Home for Boys Anniversary Cookbook." Kearney, Nebraska: Morris Press Cookbooks, 2005.

At first glance, this cookbook has an impressive collection of recipes. Even better, the three-ring binder style cookbook also comes with a mini-plastic stand that holds the book upright and open. However, almost every recipe I tried seemed to be a family recipe - that is, the combination of ingredients probably pleased the author of the recipe and his or her family, but only one suited my tastes. And even then, I'd reserve this recipe for large gatherings because it's super rich, with plenty of sugar and fat/cholesterol. In fact, the recipe says it serves 12-16 people but based on my experience, it probably serves 40. Because it's so rich, most people can only tolerate a small piece. But they do love that small piece and come back for more!

The good news is that you can easily halve this recipe and get the same results (not true for all dessert recipes, I've found).

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/3 cup coconut
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 jar marshmallow creme (large jar for full recipe, small jar for half recipe)

Cream butter, sugar and cocoa together. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, baking powder, coconut and pecans; beat well for 2 minutes. Spread batter in greased and floured 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Spread marshmallow creme over top while cake is still hot. Cool and frost.

Frosting
4 cups sifted powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together 1 cup of the powdered sugar with butter, cocoa, evaporated milk and vanilla. When well blended, gradually add additional 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat until creamy. spread on cooled cake. Serves 12-16.