cake isn't supposed to make you angry, al

On Sunday, I drove back to DC from home. I did it begrudgingly, and only after seriously considering calling in sick to work on Monday, and staying home an extra day. Ultimately I decided my guilty conscience would outweigh any benefits garnered from the extra day hiding out at home. 

So, after I unloaded the innumerable pounds of laundry I took home with me to wash, I forced myself to go to the grocery. Might as well get ALL the unpleasantness out in one day, I reasoned.  (I really hate grocery shopping, in case you don't know me and/or didn't know that about me)

At the grocery, I grabbed a jar of molasses and a bag of chocolate chips on a whim. They were on sale, I was still brain dead from driving 400 miles, and next thing I knew, they were in my increasingly full basket. I think my subconscious was reminding me that I've really been wanting to bake something gingerbread-y lately. Or something. Go with it. 

When I got back to my apartment, I googled around for a good recipe, but all the ones I found didn't really appeal to me. Since google typically only turns up results from places like allrecipes, food network, epicurious, and the like, I sometimes go elsewhere. In this case, "elsewhere" was the Williams-Sonoma site. Sometimes their recipes are a little too elaborate for my taste, but this chocolate chip gingerbread one seemed totally approachable. I realize when I was pulling all of the ingredients out of my tiny pantry that I didn't have cloves, but decided that wasn't the end of the world, and went for it anyways. 

I'm so glad I did. Of all the baked goods I've pawned off on coworkers, this was by far the biggest hit. I don't know if everyone was just in the mood for a holiday confection or what, but the little bundt cake got glowing reviews. And, it gave me a chance to give poor, neglected Kitty the Kitchenaid stripper some attention. A win all around.

 

wheeeeeee (butter, sugar, vanilla)

 

flour/cocoa/spice mixture, molasses, flour coated chocolate chips

 

the holiday scented batter, popped in the oven 

 

45 minutes later, it looks like this (or prettier, if you're skilled like the W-S cooks)

and tastes like gloriousness 

ps-the title comes from what became a funny moment with my boss. We were having a little communication breakdown over how an upcoming meeting will be conducted, and he got a little brusque. Then he noticed the cake on the ledge of my desk, and harumphed about it. I said "cake isn't supposed to make you angry, Al!" and the woman who sits across from me got the giggles, and next thing we knew, he had snuck a piece while we weren't looking. He later admitted that "it was alright, I guess" (from him, that's a compliment, believe me!).