I do realize that my sense of productivity is a bit higher than most, but still, not anywhere near some folks. I like to call myself the underachiever of the overachievers. I can spend an entire weekend curled up with a book, but yet still find myself doing things like baking loaves of bread because that’s not really being productive and wouldn’t some nice hot fresh bread be good while I’m curled up reading? But I still don’t get near as many things done as I’d like to. Or really probably could….

Today, however, is one of those days where I’m totally amazed with myself. I didn’t even realize until I was halfway through the process that I was baking 2 cakes at once. I mean, I had a gameplan, but then all of a sudden it hit me that I was being obnoxiously productive.

Cake one is to take with us this weekend to Oysterfest. It’s super easy and the only cake I make with a box mix. Counting the steps on the back of the box, it has 5 steps. Seriously. Use a box mix of white cake. Follow the instructions, but pour the batter into the biggest, shallowest pan you have (like a rimmed cookie sheet or a jelly roll pan). Bake until done, about 20 minutes. Immediately dump a jar of peanut butter on top. Let it sit at least 10 minutes, until soft enough to spread over the entire cake. Then, sprinkle a bag of chocolate chips on top. Let them get soft and spread. Voila. It tastes like the old Tastykake’s Kandy Kake treat. Perfect to take to big parties.

The second cake is a flourless chocolate torte. I discovered it a few years ago in my Green & Black’s Chocolate Cookbook. I wanted a quick & easy cake for Betty’s birthday and this one had exactly 5 steps. And I discovered I can skip one – grinding almonds – because I use cocoa powder instead. Butter, sugar, chocolate, eggs, a pinch of sugar & a pinch of cocoa powder. Seriously gooey good.

That cake is for the Caregiver’s Appreciation Day at JABA, my employer, on Saturday. I was asked to make a dessert for it and figured I’d make something really yummy, as being a caregiver to a family member dealing with a long term or degenerative disease isn’t easy and doesn’t always come with alot of thanks. A gooey chocolate cake is really a small token of my respect.

All in all, making both cakes took less than a hour. Leaving me plenty of time to do laundry, pack and heat up some leftovers. Because after baking 2 cakes, I’m definitely not cooking dinner. That’s just a little too productive for me.