5 Minute Hot Fudge Sauce

Remember when I made this chocolate loaf cake? It was so good and so easy that when I realized I lost the recipe write up I originally made, I went ahead and used my notes to make it again... just to make sure... yeah.  That's my story. I'm sticking to it.

I kept getting compliments on how good that cake looks, and honestly, it really is just that good.  Then I started thinking about what I really wanted to do with that cake and decided that I should just go ahead and do it already.

When my family would eat out while I was growing up, if I could swing dessert I always ordered the same thing.  Hot Fudge Cake with vanilla ice cream and nuts.  Always.

And it was always a HUGE serving. I can't remember for sure, but I'm fairly certain I always polished it off too.  I decided to make one huge, big bowled, spoons for the whole family kind of serving for this Hot Fudge Cake too.  It actually ended up being a really fun and kind of silly/sweet bonding time with A. who loved the chocolate loaf cake plain, but has asked me about this Hot Fudge Cake almost every day since.

The thing about this Hot Fudge Cake is though that, as good as the cake itself has to be - chocolatey, moist, tender with a sturdy-ish crumb - you can't just use some run of the mill hot fudge on it, and definitely not just chocolate syrup.  Oh no.  It has to be the real thing.

In this case, I came up with this idea late in the day and just couldn't wait to try it, but also didn't have long to make the hot fudge.  I wanted instant gratification hot fudge.  That's not to say that the original, traditionally made version actually takes too much longer, because it doesn't, but I was too lazy to fiddle with the stovetop.

By taking a few little chances and making some convenient adjustments to an already stellar recipe, I got exactly what I wanted.  So, if sometimes, you are like me and just need the good stuff right now.  Give this a try!

5 Minute Hot Fudge Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

Printable Version

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup dark brown (or light brown) sugar

1/3 cup Dutch cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

6 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a large glass measuring cup or other microwave safe bowl whisk together the cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa and salt to combine well.  Microwave on high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until hot but not boiling over.  Start with 1 minute, then just look and see if it is just simmering - it will be hotter than you think if it is simmering, so don't wait for it to boil and scald.

Add the chopped chocolate and butter to the mixture and let it sit and melt for 1 minute.  Use a small whisk or rubber spatula to stir the chocolate and butter into the mixture until melted and smooth.  Microwave for 30 seconds more if needed, just enough to make sure all the chocolate and butter are melted without scorching anything.  Add the vanilla and stir well to combine thoroughly.

The hot fudge can be used right away or cooled to room temperature then stored in a tightly lidded, airtight, heat proof container in the refrigerator.  If using the fudge out of the refrigerator, heat it gently in a bowl of hot water or in 10 second bursts in the microwave till just the desired consistency.

(This recipe is liberally adapted from Dorie Greenspan - for a fantastic traditionally made version, go here).

Easy Chocolate Loaf Cake - Happy Chocolate Cake Day

Seriously, after reading this, you will bow to my awesomeness.  I feel like a total Goob (Meet the Robinsons reference there - prepare to be amazed! (no, not really)...

So.  If you've been following me on Twitter lately, you know that Kayla has been sick, basically on and off since September. Nothing new there. Not even surprising really, what with Down syndrome, congenital heart disease, high blood pressure and on oxygen for almost a year to contend with.

Anyway, yesterday things took a turn for the worse.  Actually, they went downhill a few days ago, but yesterday it was official.  Kayla has RSV.  To be honest, I'm surprised we've been able to dodge that bullet this long.  She is doing ok, but the doc warns me to expect it to get worse before it gets better.

Now, back to my awesomeness (and yes, you should detect a heavy amount of sarcasm here).

Today is chocolate cake day!  Happy chocolate cake day!  I've been waiting, and waiting and waiting for this day because, seriously, chocolate cake is one of the major food groups of my diet.  No joke.

I wanted to make something smallish and easy so that I could have chocolate cake any old time I wanted.   And, I did!  It's this chocolate loaf cake you see all these pretty pictures of.

In my awesomeness though, I can't for the life of my find the piece of *&#(@%%*)# paper I wrote the recipe and directions on!  Awesome, right?!  I made it a couple of weeks ago... do you know how far in a madhouse like mine a piece of paper can migrate in that amount of time? Really, it's like there are little sprites that wander around and move things.  

Oh wait.

I forgot. Those are my kids. Hmm.

The fact that I can't get my hands on that paper right now really stinks actually, because this little loaf cake, in all its unassuming, moist, chocolatey goodness, deserves its day in the sun.  You could frost it, but it doesn't even need it.  Just a dusting of cocoa and some whipped cream were all I needed.  Oh, but it you added some chocolate sauce or better yet hot fudge and ice cream, well, you'd have quite the little dessert on your hands.

So, I promise that very soon I will track down that paper, and get that on here.  In the meantime, I plead **temporary** insanity and hope you'll bear with me.


UPDATE:  RECIPE BELOW!! 

Chocolate Loaf Cake

Printable Version

INGREDIENTS:

3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup cold water or coffee

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Butter and lightly flour the inside of an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 –inch loaf pan on all sides.  For easy removal you can line the pan with a piece of parchment as a sling up and over the sides (the ends of the pan won’t be covered, just the long sides). Butter and flour the parchment if you are using it. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.  Carefully heat the mixture just until the butter is mostly melted, about 1 minute.  Gently whisk the mixture together to finish melting the chocolate.  Whisk in the water or coffee, vanilla, vinegar and the egg until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and whisk together until smooth.  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake the loaf for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack to finish cooling. Cool completely before slicing.

Serve the cake slices with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder or confectioners’ sugar.

FFwD: Michel Rostang's Chocolate Mousse Cake

Aidan was the biggest fan of this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe for Michel Rostang's Chocolate Mousse Cake.  He wanted me to tell you that these were "totally awesome, so yummy, so yummy."  Like cold, brownies that are creamy and light like ice cream.  Direct quote from the boy's mouth.

I loved it also, I mean really, what's not to love. We all know about my deep and abiding love of chocolate so the fact that I loved it too shouldn't come as a surprise.  I wasn't entirely sure that I actually whipped the eggs correctly - in fact I think I over beat them... again... what else is new!  That said, it still turned out great.  

We went for the bake, chill, bake, chill method which Dorie mentions in the book as her favorite way to eat this cake.  I haven't tried the other ways, but I really liked it this way.  

I didn't change the recipe at all, but I didn't have an 8-inch spring form pan either, so I did use a 9-inch instead which is why mine looks a little thinner than the picture in the book.  I think ours is possibly a layered a little differently as well as far as the thickness of the two separately baked layers goes. The top of our cake was fairly thin and very crackly.  I think, no matter what you do to this cake, bottom line, its going to be good.

For more chocolate mousse cake madness, head on over to the French Fridays with Dorie site and see how the others fared this week.

FFwD: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

I don't think it is any big secret here that I just don't enjoy baked fruit all that much.  What I find particularly hilarious about this fact is the flip side of just how silly I am sometimes when it comes to baking vs. what I'll actually eat.

You see, I don't like baked fruit much... but I just adore baking with it.  This puts me in a ridiculous situation at times where I make things that I have absolutely no intention of eating.  This cake falls into that category.

It was so fun to make!  I loved choosing the different kinds of apples and getting them all ready for the cake.  I loved mixing the miniscule amount of batter and seeing how the cake all cake together.  I loved baking it up and watching friends and family enjoy the cake.

I had a bite.  Just so I could say I did.

I'm a total dork.

I really loved making the cake though, so hopefully that counts for something.  I also did really love how the batter baked up and the buttery and sugary flavor of the cake itself - I'm just not into the baked apples.

Again.  I'm a total dork.

For better reviews of this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe for Marie-Helene's Apple Cake, please visit the FFwD site and check out the LYL post with everyone's links.  I promise, they'll make much more sense than I do.

The only change I did make was to bake my cake in an 8-inch square pan.  There was a sad incident in the kitchen which has caused the demise of my smaller springform pan, (let's just say that when the bottom of a 9-inch pan gets firmly lodged inside another 9-inch pan, neither pan is going to come apart or survive.  It is very very sad) much to my dismay, so I had to get a little creative.  I basically just created two slings of parchment in the square pan and followed the rest of the directions as written.  It worked beautifully with no problems at all.  I still miss my springform though.  

In case you missed it, you can also check out many more recipes from Around My French Table that several of us got together and made for Dorie's birthday this last Sunday.  It was a great roundup and I'm so proud of all my fellow cooks and bakers who are so talented and giving to come together and put together such a beautiful spread to celebrate a truly gracious and lovely lady!

TWD: Banana Cake into Banoffee Cake

If anyone out there has figured out how to squeeze more hours into the day, please let me know! I actually made this cake almost two weeks ago... and I just remembered in the wee hours of the morning that though I had loaded the pictures, I had yet to write and post about this week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick.

This week is bananas - both the cake, and my life (see what I did there with my lame-it's-reeeeaaaaalllly-late-early-whatever BAD sense of humor - sorry about that).

Anyway, the Lots-of-ways Banana Cake, chosen by Kimberly at Only Creative Opportunities is a great recipe with lots and lots of options for what to do with it.  It really got me thinking, and what I really wanted was a snacking cake with lots of goodies loaded into it.  I didn't feel like coconut, so I opted to turn the cake into a halved-recipe (only 1 9-inch cake) banana-toffee-chocolate-pecan confection.  I'm so glad I did because it was a delicious and imminently snackable treat.

I made a plethora of changes and wanted to save them, so I opted to post my version of the recipe over on my SLC Baking Examiner page at Examiner.com - just in case anyone else out there was looking for a very simple and snackable cake.

The cake itself turned out moist, and tender with just a little banana flavor.  It is fairly dense for a cake, but not as dense as most banana breads I've had.  I made a mixture of dark chocolate chips, homemade toffee chunks, chopped pecans and even added a little raw sugar on top for an extra crunch.

For many more variations, check out the TWD Blog.

The Cake Slice: Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I love chocolate, that is no secret. I also love bananas. So, that said, you would think that I would looooove this cake. In fact, I did like the cake itself, but surprisingly, to me anyway, the cake with this frosting was just waaaaay too sweet. Knowing my penchant for all things sweet, that may come as a shock. It certainly did to me. I thought the cake itself was very nice, but the frosting was tooth achingly sweet for me. Go figure.

That said, the cake and frosting were both a snap to make and I was glad to be able to participate in this month's round of The Cake Slice Bakers. I'm still playing a lot of catch up around here and hope to have many more posts up soon. I counted the other day and have at least 15 items just waiting to post, pictures and all, so hopefully I'll get on the ball soon.

Don't miss the rest of the cakes and how the other bakers thought it all turned out - visit the blogroll.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

Banana Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened

1½ cups sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup buttermilk*

1½ cups mashed ripe banana

Chocolate Frosting

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

* If you don’t have buttermilk you can make your own by stirring 1½ teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice into ½ cup of milk and leaving for 10 minutes.

To make the cake, heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally until you have a smooth batter.

Using a large spoon, stir in half the flour just until it disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk and then the remaining flour the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed banana and then divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.

Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the centre, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks. Then turn out onto the racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the butter, cocoa and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark shiny essence. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a thick smooth frosting.

To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down, on a cake plate and spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly over the top. Cover with the second layer placed top side up. Spread the rest of the frosting evenly first over the sides and then covering the top of the cake.

TWD: Swedish Visiting Cake

You would think from the lack of posting I've done in the past few weeks that I'm also not really doing any cooking or baking to speak of. You would almost be right.

I actually have been doing some of both, though perhaps not back at my usual pace and full speed ahead yet, but what I have really lacked is the time to have two free hands to write any posts or upload any pictures. Hopefully later this week I will have a chance to catch up because I have several things I want to tell you about and the lack of writing is really beginning to irk me - mainly since I think it is probably just due to mismanagement of time (or just complete lack of time I guess) on my part. Seriously, aren't there supposed to be 48 hours in a day?! Maybe it's just me. ;)

Anywho.

Tuesdays with Dorie for this week, which I absolutely couldn't miss, hosted by the lovely and so dear Nancy at The Dogs Eat the Crumbs, was for the Swedish Visiting Cake. This cake couldn't be more delightful or easy to make. I think, if I'm remembering how I put it together anyway, that it involved a bowl, a whisk, a spatula and a baking dish (I went the cast iron skillet route in this case), plus some measuring cups and spoons. While that may sound like a lot, at the bottom of it what that all means to me is that this is a no machine, one bowl kind of dessert. Which is a beautiful thing, especially with three kiddos at our house now. Needless to say, with a new baby around, simplicity has been the key to our current attempts at sanity.

Overall, this is a simple, easy and fun cake to make. It requires the minimum amount of fuss, mess, cleanup, etc.. It also has an absolutely lovely combination of flavors balanced with lemon, almond, vanilla and butter. The cake bakes up moist and delicious with a nice sugary crunch on top from the almonds. A definite keeper.

It would be fun to make this cake again using another citrus, orange or I'm even thinking about tangerine sometime. However, someone mentioned a similar cake in the P&Q that has baked apples in it. That basically got me thinking about trying a version with peaches. I imagine it would be a lot like a delicious cobbler / cake with lots of extra 'crust' topping, which I would love. When I get around to it, hopefully soon, I will definitely share the results with you all.

For more variations in the meantime, visit the TWD Blogroll.

SMS: Devil's Food Cake (Cupcakes) with Peanut Butter Frosting

Happy October to all! This is one of our favorite months around our house - Fall is in full swing, Cole has just had his birthday (turned 2) and as far as Aidan is concerned the entire month should be all about Halloween. The fact that is was Cole's birthday is the reason I chose the Devil's Food Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting for my recipe choice for Sweet Melissa Sundays!

I made a scaled down version of the recipe to come up with 12 cupcakes - mainly just because since we were doing Cole's birthday celebration with just the four of us, there was really no reason to have a full sized big cake. I hadn't really read the recipe all the way through when I made the selection and hadn't realized first, what a big cake it would make, and second, the incredible amount of butter called for to make the peanut butter frosting (which was really much more of a buttercream frosting with a light peanut butter flavor). I know that some SMS Bakers scaled down the amount of butter significantly and increased the peanut butter flavor - personally, I felt I should try to stay as close to the original as possible, for the sake of trying it first, but in the future I will definitely increase the amount of peanut butter since the flavor was very subtle and I would have liked it even more featured just a bit more prominently.

All that said, the birthday boy, his big brother, and his papa and myself, were all very happy with these cupcakes and really enjoyed them. Perhaps my favorite thing about them was the fact that they were even better the next (and the next) day - which is how long it took us to work through our dozen cupcakes. I hate to admit that most of that dozen was still eaten by me!

While I have managed to make a couple of the recipes for Sweet Melissa Sundays since this crazy thing called pregnancy started back in June, I swear, managing to post anything has been a bit ridiculous around here. I'm not entirely sure why, and I'm going to attempt to do better since I am getting more and more (and more behind)! Present count is that I have at least 16 items ready to write up and post, pictures and all - but can't seem to get my act together. So, my point is, I wanted to send out an extra huge thank you to the other SMS Bakers for baking with me this week and for continuing to stop by during my craziness and to all my loyal readers for visiting when I do get my rear in gear, so to speak.

I have included the original recipe below, but if anyone is interested, I did keep track of the conversions I actually used to take the recipe down to a dozen cupcakes (the math was a bit crazy) and can share that recipe as well.

Devil’s Food Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

Makes one 9” cake

For the Cake:
6 oz best-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely shopped
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 2/3 cup sugar
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups hot strong brewed coffee (I just used hot water)

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:

1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 ½ pounds unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp whole milk
½ cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour two 9×2-inch round cake pans, Line each pan with a 9-inch round of parchment paper.

To Make the Cake
1. In the top of a double boiler set over simmering, not boiling, water, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is completely melted, whicsk in the vegetableoil until smooth. Remove from the heat, but keep warm over the hot water.

2. In the bowl, of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream and eggs until smooth.

4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, and mix until combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the melted chocolate mixture and mix until combined. add the hot coffee (or water) in a stream, and mix until combined. (Again, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.) The batter will be loose.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool in the pans for 25 minutes before turning out the layers onto the rack. Cool completely before finishing.

The baked layers may be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 2 days. For longer storage, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze wrapped in plastic wrap and them aluminum foil for up to 2 weeks. Do not unwrap before thawing.

To Make the Frosting
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the confectioner’s sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk, and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined. Use the frosting immediately, if possible. It may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature overnight, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Let the frosting come to room temperature and briefly rebeat it in the mixer before using.

Easy Cocoa Snack Cake Recipe

If you are like me then you probably get cravings for chocolate cake at random odd moments and don't have time to do anything about it - or don't want to commit any large portion of your chocolate stash to a large cake that when there isn't a special occasion. While I know there are mug cake recipes running around out there, it isn't entirely the same thing for me and doesn't cure that craving in the same way.

So, if you are like me, then here is the cake recipe for you. It uses a minimal amount of ingredients, relies solely on cocoa powder for the cake itself and is equally delicious topped with whipped chocolate ganache (shown here) for a fancier effect or with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and served with a tall cold glass of milk. Incidentally, while I wasn't setting out to make any kind of substitute for this cake that used to be an indulgence when I was growing up, it tastes almost just like I remember that one tasting - only much, much better with a nicer texture. I kept mine in the fridge for a few days and just cut indulged in it cold as well as at room temperature and it was fantastic and chocolatey either way.

If you give it a try, please let me know. I'd love to hear what you think!

Easy Cocoa Snack Cake Recipe

TWD: Banana Babycakes with Lemon Icing

Tuesdays with Dorie this week is brought to us by Mary, The Food Librarian, who chose the Classic Banana Bundt Cake. I was so happy when I saw this was her choice this week because I have been waiting, and waiting for someone to choose it! I made the bundt cake last year sometime and it was by far the best banana cake I've ever had. I loved the lemony icing on it as well.

This time I decided to make myself some banana babycakes and they were just as heavenly and good as I remember. This cake is moist, tender, light, fluffy and flavorful. It has a wonderful banana flavor and isn't too sweet. The tang of the lemon frosting is a really lovely accent.

As some of you already know, we have another reason around our house to think in baby sized portions - I am **surprise** pregnant again and expecting baby number 3. I'm due next March, which frankly, with my track record means who-in-the-heck-knows when I may have this baby. (Five days late the first time, 7 1/2 weeks early the second).

While we are both very happy about another addition to our family, it did come as quite a shock and surprise. We were 'preventing' another pregnancy and let's face it, I'm no fertile-myrtle (it took 2 years of trying to get pregnant with both other pregnancies). So, since I had my doctor's appointment to explore my permanent options all scheduled with my doctor, all we can think is that this was just meant to be and we have another little family member waiting to join us.

I won't lie and say that my initial reaction was positive. There. I said it. This is a very mixed up feeling. While this baby is very, very wanted... this pregnancy was not. I am sick. Ill. Exhausted. In short - a total train wreck. Sadly, this is the condition (only worsening) that I spend my entire pregnancies in. So, while most are giving us glad tidings, that was not my initial response. I absolutely freaked out. Complete and total panic. All I thought was - "I can't do this again!!" The thought of going through another pregnancy so sick, then having it end in another NICU experience due to HELLP's Syndrome (which I will more than likely have again) absolutely terrifies me. Completely. Most of the time I am keeping the panic in check... but not lately.

While I am trying to keep it together and keep life on an even keel, fate is not helping matters AT ALL. My short-lived zen was rudely destroyed this past Friday when I was also laid off from my job - basically the only job I had any hope of holding down (no pun with my sickness intended, but there you go) during this pregnancy and the long recovery that will come after it. (I was working from home doing marketing for a financial planning firm). Basically, the company I work for answers to another company above them who has decided to in effect create their own marketing department, tell the agents they must use that department, and therefore inadvertently obliterate my job. Awesome.

My point, my lovely friends is this. I don't know what the heck I'm going to do, but I'm not giving up on my happy place here. No matter what. I may not be posting as much since it is really tough to get in the kitchen right now, but I will be here as much as I can and don't want to lose this too. I may not be as happy or positive as I've tried hard to be in the past, but I don't think any of you will begrudge me that.

The outpouring of support I've received from this community already has been amazing and uplifting, so please, keep coming back. I love you all!

TWD: Perfect Party Cake... Again

Sorry for the poor picture quality! The lighting was terrible at my parents house.

I have been waiting for the day when someone would choose for us to make the Perfect Party Cake for Tuesdays with Dorie and this week, Carol of mix, mix... stir, stir was finally the one to make this the recipe of choice.

I was a Daring Baker when we made this cake last year. I made it then with the buttercream, orange, dulce de leche and strawberries. It was amazing and didn't really give me too much trouble with anything. I didn't have any trouble with the cake layers this time either, and really liked using the lemon in it.

Perfect Party Cake for Daring Bakers

Though I could have finally tried these as cupcakes this time (DB's had to be layered cake) I was making the cake for my Dad's birthday and he expected a birthday cake. He is dieting, so we rationed portions accordingly and rather than make the butter-laden (if oh so dreamy) buttercream frosting and instead of using the sugary jam, I opted to make a fudge frosting from Nick Malgieri since Dorie mentions the recipe for this cake originally came to her from Nick. The frosting recipe is from his book, The Modern Baker. The frosting is creamy, dreamy, and not too sweet. Just a mixture of melted chocolate, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and cream.

My Dad had a small slice of his cake and enjoyed it, but overall, the cake was a little too dry with this fudgey frosting instead of the jam and buttercream. As long as I had a big glass of cold milk though, I didn't mind.

It tasted pretty much like a big slice of my favorite black and white cookies! Which was actually why I tried the frosting. Next time, I may try this again, with filling the inside with chocolate buttercream or something and keeping the jam in the mix as well.

Make sure to see how the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers did this week!

Chocolate Fudge Icing
From The Modern Baker, by Nick Malgieri

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan and whisk well to mix. Place over low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool to lukewarm, about 110 degrees F.

Add the cooled cream mixture to the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Distribute the butter in a small pieces all over the chocolate mixture, then whisk it in smoothly. Whisk in the vanilla. Cool the icing until it is firm enough to spread.

Cake Slice Bakers: Mile-High Devil's Food with Brown Sugar Buttercream

I am back with The Cake Slice Bakers this month, after missing last month's challenge much to my dismay.  I wasn't missing this month since this recipe is one of the main reasons I bought Alisa Huntsman's (which, by the way, if you click on Alisa's name, you will go to her blog!) book, Sky High:  Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes.

Devil's Food cake may very well be my favorite - no surprise there since it is chocolate after all. What I truly love about this recipe though (and for that matter most of the recipes in the book) is that it is so unique to any other Devil's Food I've seen or made.

Most of the Devil's Food recipes I've seen use a combination of unsweetened cocoa and melted chocolate, which is truly rich and delicious, but always a bit overwhelming on my ingredients supplies and budgets.  It is awesome to have a beautiful cake, but when it wants to use my cocoa supply, and a good amount of my chocolate supply, it is a bit of a struggle to justify making it.

Happy Day After Devil's Food Cake Day!  Yes, it's true, May 19 was National Devil's Food Cake Day here in the U.S.!

So, in my opinion, the unique thing about this recipe is that it uses only unsweetened cocoa powder - a full cup of it.  Another thing that was different than a lot of recipes I've seen is that there was no buttermilk, or any milk for that matter.  Also, no granulated sugar.  The other really unique thing I found with this recipe is that it uses no white sugar, but it did put a large dent in my brown sugar supply!  In fact, the cake uses 3 cups of packed brown sugar!  Since I seriously loooooove brown sugar, this was fine by me!

The other portion of the dent in my brown sugar supply came from the buttercream, which got its slightly tawny, creamy white color from making a sugar syrup using 1 1/4 cups of light brown sugar and only a 1/4 cup of water.  It was a really lovely syrup too!  

To further gild the lily, I used some unsalted imported Irish butter in the buttercream that I had on hand for another project that I was planning (I can get more when I actually get around to it I guess) since all my other unsalted butter was still languishing in the freezer - poor planning on my part!

So, overall, the cake itself, funny enough, was rich, moist, chocolatey and absolutely delicious - when I ate a piece out the refrigerator it actually tasted just like a chocolate ice cream sandwich to me!  I know I will make this recipe many more times.

For my layer cake I used a 14-inch square pan and filled it with about just under 3/4 of the batter.  The remainder of the batter made 12 cupcakes for me, which are now in the freezer for some rainy day when I need a chocolate fix!  I cut the cooled large square into four smaller squares that I then stacked to make my layers.  It made one very tall and irresistible layer cake!

Make sure to check out all the other Devil's Food Cakes at The Cake Slice Bakers Blogroll!

Mile-High Devil’s Food Cake

From: Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

By Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne

Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake:

• 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa NOT DUTCHED PROCESSED

• 1 and ¼ cups of hot water

• 3 cups of light brown sugar; packed

• 2 and 2/3 cups cake flour*

• 1 and ½ teaspoons baking soda

• ¾ teaspoon of salt

• 9 ounces of unsalted butter at room temperature [2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons]

• 3 large eggs

• 1 and ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract

• ¾ cup of cold water

{*1 cup of cake flour is equal to ¾ cup of flour plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch}

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and grease the paper as well.

Place the cocoa in a medium bowl and add the hot water. Whisk until smooth and let it cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low blend to combine. Add the butter and the dissolved cocoa. Then raise the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and cold water until combined. Add this liquid to the batter in three additions scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Divide the batter among the three pans.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a cakes tester inserted into the almost comes out clean. There should be a few crumbs attached still. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes. Then invert and remove parchment paper and cool completely on a wire rack.

Bakers’ choice of: Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting or Brown Sugar Buttercream

Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting

• 6 egg whites

• 1 and ½ cups of brown sugar

• ¼ cup light corn syrup*

• 2 tablespoons of water

• ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar

{*corn syrup can be substituted with equal parts of treacle OR liquid glucose OR light colored honey}

Do not try to make this frosting on a rainy day or if you live in an extremely humid area. The humidity will make it impossible to work with the egg whites.

Place all the egg whites in a bowl and set them aside while you make the syrup.

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Boil until the syrup reaches 238 degrees F (softball stage) on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites in the bowl and beat just to combine. With the mixer on medium speed gradually add the syrup in a thin stream taking care not to hit the beaters. Beat until fairly stiff peaks form but the frosting is still spreadable. If the frosting is too stiff it will be hard to work with. Use immediately.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

• 5 egg whites

• 1 and ¼ cups of packed brown sugar

• ¼ cup of water

• 1 pound of unsalted butter (16 ounces) at room temperature

Place all the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer; set aside.

In a heavy medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to a boil without stirring and cook until the syrup reaches 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Begin beating the egg whites on medium low speed. Slowly pour in the syrup making sure not to hit the beater. Increase the mixer speed to medium high and beat until the meringue has cooled to body temperature.

With the mixer on med-low add 1-2 tablespoons of butter at a time. When all the butter has been added increase the mixer’s speed to medium and beat until the mixture looks curdled or separated. Continue to beat until the icing comes together again looking like soft smooth whipped butter.

Assembling the cake:

Place one layer flat side down and cover it with 2/3 cup of the frosting. Top with second layer and repeat process. Top with third layer and frost the sides of the cake.

Bakers Notes:

A cake topped with the meringue frosting is the best eaten the day it’s made. It does not do well in the fridge.

If you choose the buttercream frosting you can keep it in the fridge for 3 days. Make sure to allow the cake to come to room temperature for 1 to 1 ½ hours before slicing. Otherwise the frosting will be hard and heavy.

Triple Lemon Chiffon Loaf Cake

The Cake Slice Bakers this month made a Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake.  This cake is easy to put together, goes together fairly quickly and is absolutely light, lemony and delicious.  In fact, if you like Lemonheads candy (which I LOVE) then you would be completely delighted with this cake.  I got that distinct level of tart and tangy with just enough sweet.  It was awesome.  The cake itself has a beautiful yellow tone to it and is light and slightly springy.  The lemon curd layered between the layers of cake is tangy and smooth and the whipped lemon cream frosting is super simple to make and is the perfect light compliment to the whole thing.  I just added some bright yellow sugar sprinkles on top for an extra burst of color and a little sugary crunch.

I really have nothing bad to say about this cake, well, except for the fact that I halved the recipe since I didn't have anywhere to take the cake this time.  I guess the only con is that there isn't more.  To make the lemon loaf cake like I did, I just made a half batch of everything and then baked the cake in one 9x13-inch pan.  

Seriously, if you like lemon, just make this cake!

Incidentally, if you do decide to make this cake, someone mentioned recently that March 29th is National Lemon Chiffon Day - so, there you go!

Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake

Source:  Sky High:  Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes

For the recipe, visit Gigi Cakes (one of our fearless leaders) whose cake with little ballerinas on top is about the cutest thing ever!!

TWD: French Yogurt Cake with Strawberries and Cream

I hope that the fact that my French Yogurt Cake turned into such a tall and lovely creation will make up for the fact that I am making this post extremely brief.  I have been chasing two sick kids around to various doctor appointments today and, at this moment, one of them is beyond ready for a nap.  

I decided to take Dorie's recommendation in the playing around section and try this cake as a kind of Strawberry Shortcake version - only mine ended up being quite tall.  

I went ahead and baked the cake in the loaf pan, then I just cut 1/2-inch thick slices and used a 2 1/2-inch round cutter to cut some small rounds to stack with some lightly sweetened whipped cream and sliced strawberries that had been soaking in a bit of vanilla and sugar.  

The black flecks in my cake come from the use of some vanilla sugar I had on hand and the only other change I made was to use orange zest instead of lemon.

Overall, I really liked this cake, but funny enough, my favorite part was the caramelized outsides of the cake even more than the tender and moist insides seen here.  I think I would like these as cupcakes (without liners) to get even more of a 'crust' to cake ratio.  Cutting it the way I did left quite a few nice scraps for me to nibble on though, so who knows!

Don't forget to stop by and say hello to this week's hostess, Liliana at My Cookbook Addiction! , and to head over to the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see all the other creations.

If you haven't already entered my apron giveaway, you have till midnight tomorrow (MST) (3/18/09) to enter.  Just check it out here!