Chocolate and I go way back, we've been best buds since I was a wee child. I can go months without ice cream but without any chocolate? I cannot fathom what will I do when that happen. My favorite way to use up chocolates is by whipping up a mean chocolate cake. I got my go to chocolate cake which I learned few years ago from my favorite culinary divas Heny Sison and Jill Sandique. Both are excellent chocolate cakes, both are bestsellers and are always well appreciated by my family. However, sometimes unexpected conundrum occurs, like running out of eggs and butter!! I know I know...such a pitiful excuse trying to get out of my weekly baking, but alas fret not, I found this amazing chocolate cake the uses...mayo...yup...you read correctly, I said mayo, as in good old fashioned regular store bought mayonnaise, the kind you slap on your BLTs. Its actually nothing new I've seen old fashioned recipes that uses mayo but I just didn't give it a try since I found it weird. 

Nevertheless, desperate time calls for desperate measures. Baking for me is like an addiction, like how smokers are addicted to nicotine, when I want to bake, come hell or high water, I will think of a way how I will do it. I remembered reading from a fellow baker, Bake Happy, that she made some mean chocolate cake using her mother's recipe. I must admit I used her mayo cake recipe before in cupcake form, they were soft and bouncy and very moist but it somehow lacks body. It was so soft that It could support my chocolate ganache frosting. I promised myself that next time I would make it using APF instead of cake flour as she suggested but then I remembered. I'm making a cake now, so I better try it with cake flour first it might be different because cupcakes are way smaller. Good thing I followed my instinct, they came out perfect! Dark, rich and moist chocolate cake, just perfect! Bake Happy said the cake is so good that there isn't a need to frost the cake. Not me, I mean, why not make it better right? Chocolate cake alone is good but a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is just plain great!

• 2 cups flour (all purpose flour is okay, but you can find cake flour, it would be better)
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ cup water
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, mix mayonnaise and sugar until smooth.
2. Sift or dry whisk the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder. Just make sure all four ingredients are well mixed. 
3. Add a third of the flour mixture to the mayonnaise mixture.
4. Add 1/2 of the water required. It will look all curdled and icky but don't despair once all the water is well combine it come together quite nicely. 
5. Repeat #3 and #4 until the flour mixture and water has been added to the mayonnaise mixture. Add the vanilla extract last. 
6. Pour into a well greased pan and bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes for cakes and 12-15 minutes for cupcakes. Make sure to tap the pans used to let the air out before baking.

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (if you're feeling fancy, you can add Kahlua, too)

1. Chop chocolate and transfer into a heat proof bowl.
2. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream through strainer, over the chocolate.
3. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
4. Add butter stir until combined.
5. Cool ganache in the refrigerator overnight. Then beat/whip until fluffy.