Cake Batter Chocolate Sauce, or Using Resources Wisely.

Hi all,

I just got back from a whirlwind weekend of cooking at a Girl Scout camp! This was our first year at Camp St. Albans (camp was traditionally held at Camp Klahanee) and there were a few fantastic improvements. The girls were able to go boating, swiming, and even shoot an arrow at the archery range. A feature the girls wouldn't notice is the wonderful commercial kitchen at St. Albans. Klahanee has very small home-sized appliances, which means one traditional oven to feed 100+ people.  St. Albans has FOUR commercial convection ovens, huge prep spaces, multiple sinks, and a walk-in refrigerator/freezer. The first few days of camp were so hot that we held many planning meetings inside the walk in refrigerator, so refreshing!

I was assigned to help prepare dinner for about 150 ladies (and 2 guys!). The last night we planned to have angel food cake with berries for dessert, but the berries had been accidentally used for a different meal! What is that old phrase about having too many cooks in the kitchen? Anyway... being on a limited budget, we tried to come up with alternatives. The weather was unexpectedly hot, so we had two cases of hot cocoa mix that were going unused. I decided to tinker around with the mix and see what kind of chocolate sauce I could come up with. This sauce was made entirely with leftovers from other meals at camp. The end product was insanely decadent and well-loved by all! Here's what I did:

Melt margarine (or butter) over medium heat in a large sauce pot. Stir in hot cocoa packets. This will look very grainy and will separate into a chunky sludge and a dark smooth oil like substance. Do not be deterred, it will work! 

Crack and beat eggs in a spare bowl. Spoon a bit of the chocolate oil into the egg mixture. This tempers the eggs and prevents you from making a scrambled egg sauce. Once your eggs and sauce are mixed around, pour the egg mixture into the pot of chocolate goop. 

Now get to whisking! I alternated between a whisk and a large metal spoon, but keep in mind I was making a huge quantity. A whisk will probably get the job done in your kitchen. I kept the heat around medium to medium high and stirred the mixture around for about 5 minutes before it became a silky smooth chocolate sauce. 

At this point, the sauce was good, but not outstanding. Rooting around the kitchen a bit more, I found some leftover sour cream. THIS is what gives it a true cake batter feeling. Silky, smooth, creamy, and a little tart bite. I spooned the sauce into glass syrup dispensers and kept them in the fancy-schmancy warmer (held at 140 degrees or higher) until we were ready, but you could easily serve it immediately. Pour over angel food cake (with some donated blueberries- thanks Kim!), canned pineapple chunks, and a dollop of whipped cream. Or dip giant serving spoons in the pot like the entire kitchen staff did. Either way, your taste buds (and camp budget!) will love you. 

Anyone who has watched me cook knows I am a professional eye-baller. I will try and give you quantities, but I did not measure so you may have to play around with it. I made both the "home quantity" and "camp quantity" and they both turned out fine without measuring. 

Camp Quantity- Served 150 (approximately 30 cups sauce)

• Extremely large scoop margarine, probably close to 5-6 cups or more. I probably used close to a 1:1 ratio of margarine to cocoa. 
• 48 packets hot cocoa mix (50 in a case, but I practiced with 2 first). Using bulk cocoa, this almost filled up a small metal kitchen bowl. The packets should contain cocoa powder, sugar, and non-dairy creamer. 
•  About 18 raw eggs. All leftover from breakfast. 
• 1 container sour cream, approximately 12 ounces. 

Home Quantity- Probably 6 healthy servings

• About 1 cup margarine 
• 2 packets hot cocoa mix 
• 2-3 eggs 
• A healthy dollop sour cream

I know the math between the two doesn't quite add up, but that's just what I did and it was fantastic both times. Sorry for the lack of pictures- there is probably a food safety rule about cameras in a commercial kitchen. ;) I am already thinking of ways to change this chocolate sauce up at home, using peppermint cocoa mix, white chocolate mix, etc... anything goes! Enjoy!