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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | OCTOBER 2025 37 If you have any questions, please feel free to call or text me at (951) 275-7081. Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake The recipe this month is from my neighbor, Sherry Mounts, and is her family's version of the classic chocolate mayonnaise cake. The addition of raisins, nuts, and cinnamon transforms the classic into a lovely cake well-suited to fall. Sherry's version did not call for topping the cake. I made a few additions to transform this lovely cake into a fall spooktacular. Serve this cake in a manner that suits your fancy. • 1 cup raisins • 1 cup hot water • Vegetable oil for greasing the pans • 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts) • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 1 cup granulated sugar • 3/4 cup mayonnaise • 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 2 cups flour • 1 teaspoon vanilla Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost with your favorite chocolate frosting. Here is a link to a good chocolate frosting recipe: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-frosting- recipe-1957581. For spider web or mummy decoration: 2 cups mini marshmallows, about 4 ounces; Cooking spray or vegetable oil; Candy spiders or candy eyes INGREDIENTS OPTIONAL TOPPINGS CAKE DIRECTIONS TO MAKE THE SPIDER WEB/MUMMY DECORATION 1. Combine raisins and hot water, set aside. 2. Position oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans with the vegetable oil, set aside. 3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the raisin/water mixture, nuts, baking soda, sugar, mayonnaise, cocoa, and cinnamon until all ingredients are incorporated. Add the flour and vanilla, mixing until thoroughly combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. 4. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs. 5. Cool the cakes in the pan on a wire rack for ten minutes. Remove the cakes from the pan and allow them to cool completely. You may sprinkle each cake layer with powdered sugar and serve, or frost with chocolate frosting and/or decorate with marshmallow webbing. Microwave the marshmallows in a microwave-safe medium bowl until they swell and are soft enough to stir, about 1 minute. Watch constantly. Remove from microwave and let sit a minute or two until cool enough to handle. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray or vegetable oil. For a spider web, pick up a tablespoon-sized blob of the melted marshmallow and stretch it over and around the cake; repeat so that the strings of marshmallow crisscross one another in many directions, and continue until you have what looks like a spider web. For a mummy, stretch the marshmallow so that all the strings on the top of the cake run in the same direction, leaving a small gap between strings for the mummy's eyes to peek out. Garnish with a candy spider or several candy spiders for the web cake or candy eyes for the mummy cake.

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