I am staying in my community for Shabbos and since I am eating at friends for the meals, I offered my hosts to make something. I made the following two dishes last night – feel free to try them yourself and I’d greatly encourage feedback!

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake from The Kosher Palette

2 cups sugar
1 and ¾ cups flour
¾ cup cocoa
1 and ½ tsp. baking soda
1 and ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup non-dairy creamer – I now use soy milk instead because it’s healthier
½ cup vegetable oil (I’ve started using olive oil)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add all of the ingredients together. The batter will be very loose. You can bake the cake in either a bundt pan or a 9”x13” pan. Make sure the coat the pan in baking spray, and add a lot of spray if using a bundt pan (a personal favorite!).

Bake the cake for around 45 minutes. If you baked it in a bundt pan, make sure to let it cool completely before removing it.
Cranberry Crisp – I got this recipe years ago from my friend’s mother and have had the pleasure of making it for many shabbos meals.

1 cup rolling oats
1 cup flour – I started replacing ½ cup of regular flour with whole wheat flour or substituting the whole cup with whole wheat flour
¾ brown sugar – you can also use white sugar if you don’t have brown
½ cup margarine or oil
2 tsp. cinnamon
3-4 apples peeled and diced or a pan of apple pie filling
I can cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray either 8” square or round dish with baking spray (this recipe can easily be doubled to fit a larger pan). Mix the first five ingredients together. The mixture should be crumby; if it is too moist then add more oats. Place half of this mixture on the bottom of the baking dish. Lay the diced apples on top of that, then followed by the cranberry sauce. Top the dish with the second half of the dry mixture.

Bake the dish for around 45 minutes. I always know it’s ready when I see the cranberry sauce start to bubble through the top oats layer. Enjoy!