Cardamom Bundt Cake with Rose Water Buttercream

Two small children and pricy airline tickets means we don't visit family as often as we'd like. We miss holidays and birthday parties, anniversaries and lazy summer barbecues. Sometimes it's hard to know the family is somewhere celebrating without you, though it's hardest when they are hurting and you are stuck thousands of miles away.

The flip side to this is that most of our friends are in the same situation and so friends really do become your local family. This assignment in particular, perhaps because the location is so remote, has given us friendships that will last a lifetime. These are the people I call when a kid is throwing up and I need crackers and paper towels from the store. Our children are unofficial cousins, who play and fight and love just like family.

We celebrate like family too. We haven't made it home for Easter the last few years and so we created our own tradition. The first year, as we reminisced about how much we missed Indian food, we decided to all try to recreate a favorite Indian dish and have a huge potluck. Sushi was next and this year we decided to do all Greek or Mediterranean food. The group is always slightly different, people move or deploy and some decide to travel after all. This was our last Easter in Altus though, and it made me so happy to look around my kitchen and see it filled with some of my favorite people. I haven't quite come to terms with the idea that after this summer it will be an airplane ride to see this "family" instead. There is always a touch of the bittersweet to this Air Force life of ours.

This was the dessert I chose to make for our gathering. No, it's not really Greek. Even mediterranean is a stretch, but it had that touch of the exotic that I was going for. The cardamom was a delicate flavor the first day and intensified over time. This is definitely a dessert that could be made ahead and only improve over time. Rosewater is one of those ingredients best used sparingly. It imparts more of a scent than a flavor, and I think that each part of this cake could stand on it's own with a more simple setting. The buttercream would be divine on a chocolate cupcake, and the cake could be just as delicious with a simple vanilla bean glaze. The two in combination are just a tiny bit more sophisticated and it was just right for our feast.

Cardamom cake
adapted from Vintage Kitchen Notes and Kiss My Bundt

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp ground cardamom
3 eggs at room temperature
1 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven and prep bundt pan by spraying it with non-stick spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use an electric hand mixer) beat the butter. Once it has lightened in color and become creamy, add the sugar and the cardamom. Beat for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat for one minute in between additions.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter, then half the milk. Repeat this another time, ending with the last 1/3 of the flour mixture. (So it would look like this: Flour mix, milk, flour mix, milk, flour mix.)
Pour batter into pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out cleanly.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack and remove the pan. Let cake cool completely before frosting.


Rosewater Buttercream frosting
adapted from Joy the Baker cookbook

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 tbsp milk
1 tsp rose water
pinch of salt

Beat the butter in a stand mixer (or with electric hand mixer). Add sugar and beat on low to combine. Add milk slowly to reach your desired consistency-start with 2 tablespoons and add each additional tablespoon as needed. Finally add in the rose water and salt and beat for 2 minutes until the frosting is nice and fluffy.

In which I turn thirty-something and can't pick a cake

How's that for a ridiculously long post title? Ha!

Next week I turn 34...which is the last year I think I can still say that I'm in my early thirties. Dead in the center of what Madeline L'Engle called the "tired thirties" in Circle of Quiet. Oh my, was she right. 

This has been a year of big, scary grownup decisions and finally starting to feel like we aren't just pretending to be adults.

Our upcoming move will be our 6th together. On the one hand the actual move is old news. Been there done that. On the other we're headed to a much different environment than our usual military move. We'll be the closest to "home" we've ever been but it's still an unfamiliar area.

We need to find the right town and the right school....AND then the right house. Yikes. Adding the schools in to our search criteria has made this about a thousand times more complicated, and I feel about a thousand times the pressure to get it right.

On the other hand, this move is giving me a fabulous birthday present. I'm in charge of house-hunting so I get to spend my birthday week driving around beautiful New England and seeing my family and friends.

Since I won't be baking this week for my birthday, I thought I might round up some of my favorite cakes that I've made to serve as a little birthday inspiration. Do I make an old favorite when I get back or something new?

Now that's the kind of decision I like!

Do you have one favorite birthday cake or do you try something new every year?

Our Go-To Chocolate Cake

Strawberry Icebox Cake

Ice Cream Pie

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake

Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This week has been frigid in Oklahoma. We've had snow and ice (much less than our northern counterparts of course!) and subzero wind chills. Oh that wind! Rogers and Hammerstein were not kidding when they wrote those famous lyrics: "Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!"Some days I feel like it is just going to sweep us all right over the border into Texas.

In the midst of these cold dreary days this week I wanted to make something with a bright flavor for contrast. Somewhere around Tuesday my brain became fixated on lemons and I could not stop thinking about them until I had made something with them. Am I the only that happens to? Yes? That's what I was afraid of.

Lemon cakes are one of those recipes that work in almost any occasion. It will brighten things up in the dead of winter and cool you down in the worst of the summer heat. It's like the little black dress of the food world: always appropriate and chic.

I've tried a number of lemon cakes over the years and while they were all good, they weren't quite what I wanted. So I took my favorite pound cake and started tweaking. I added some lemon zest to the cake to bring the flavor in there without it going over the top lemon. Then I made a glaze to soak into the top layer of the cake and make the flavor pop without making the whole cake sticky. The result was perfect. It was crisp and bright without being cloyingly sweet or overly tart.

What are your favorite ways to brighten up these dreary winter days? 




Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook and Cup of Jo
Ingredients

For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 2 lemons
4 eggs

For the glaze:
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp water plus more if needed
1 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep a loaf pan by spraying with a nonstick spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer beat the softened cream cheese for one minute. Add in the butter and the sugar and beat for 3-4 more minutes until it gets light in color and fluffy in texture. Add the vanilla and the lemon zest and beat until mixed through.

Next, add eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each one is added in. Scrape down the sides if needed between additions.

Add flour mixture and slowly beat until it is just incorporated. Finish mixing by hand.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Check the pan every 30 minutes and rotate so it browns evenly. When a skewer comes out clean, the cake is done.

To make the glaze, whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more water as needed to get the right consistency. It shouldn't be too thick so it will be absorbed into the cake itself.

As the cake cools, use a skewer to poke holes over the top and pour the glaze over so that it soaks into the cake. Let cake finish cooling and slice to serve.

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake

I promised you chocolate, didn't I? Sorry it had to get bumped a day but Christmas preparations reared their ugly head yesterday and I had to make an emergency trip to civilization to pick something up before it sold out. Combine that with our usual round of after school speech therapy, homework, piano practice, etc. and I was one tired Mama last night. I don't know about you, but sometimes the amount of effort it takes to make the holidays magical for the boys sure takes the magic out of it for us grownups. By the end of the day, I was ready to snuggle in with a warm drink, a good book (Cuckoo's Calling) and a piece of this chocolate cake out of the freezer.

I first made this cake verbatim from Nigella Kitchen a few years ago for my husbands birthday and it was all I wanted it to be. Relatively quick, delicious and event worthy. So I continued to make every now and then without fiddling with the recipe much. When Thanksgiving rolled around this year, I decided we needed a second dessert to balance out the Apple Pie, and my husband suggested chocolate. I knew I couldn't commit to the extra time needed for frosting and making a big layer cake like I did for Christmas last year, and finally I remembered this cake.

Of course we didn't have a lime in the house and there was no way I was going to Walmart the day before Thanksgiving! Not a chance. We did have oranges though, and I remembered a friend raving about a chocolate-orange loaf cake she had made a while back…and really, what good is having family around if you can't force them to be guinea pigs for your culinary experiments?

I love the orange flavor in this much more than the lime. It retained the same rich and decadent flavor and the same slightly gooey center but the orange notes really make it feel special. The original recipe calls for a flavored whipped cream on top, but I prefer it with a big scoop of ice cream. It was the perfect end to an already over the top meal, and it also just happens to be the perfect snack out of the fridge or freezer after a long day. There's a good reason that every episode of Nigella's TV series ends with her sneaking into the kitchen for leftovers after everyone else has gone to bed!

Linking up with The SITS Girls Saturday Sharefest! Lots of great links to check out :)


Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake
adapted from Nigella Kitchen

Ingredients:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
6 eggs
1 1/4 cup superfine sugar (if you can't find this, just put regular sugar into the food processor for a few seconds)
1 cup almond meal or flour
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
zest and juice of one small orange
confectioner's sugar to dust the top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper and coat bottom and sides with non-stick spray or butter.

In a metal or glass bowl set on top of a small saucepan filled with boiling water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring regularly. Set aside to cool a little.

With a mixer (standing or hand-held), beat the eggs and sugar until they triple in size. In another bowl, mix the almond flour and cocoa powder together and then fold into the egg mixture. Once combined, fold in the melted chocolate and butter, and then the orange zest and juice.

Pour into the pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes. It will be firm and crust-like on the top, but underneath it will still be gooey in the center. Cool on a wire rack, and after about 5 minutes drape a clean tea towel over it to prevent the crust from getting too crunchy. You want it to crack a little though, so don't panic.

Dust with confectioner's sugar once it is totally cooled and serve with whipped cream or ice cream if you wish.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

My children are at the age where birthdays are a big deal. As they are my children, the cake is the biggest deal of all. Past cakes and cakes at other parties are discussed and compared until eventually a decision has been reached.

I will point out that it does not have to be their own birthdays for this to occur. This past weekend was my husband's birthday and they went completely overboard in their plans. Eventually I had to put my foot down. 

No, we are not putting Legos on Daddy's cake or buying him Ninjago balloons. 

The three of them could discuss cake flavors and I would bake whatever they decided on…I knew my husband loved mint chocolate, but the boys insisted it be mint chocolate chip. So I improvised! 

I took old favorite recipes and tweaked them just a little so the mint flavor came through in both the cake and the frosting. Then to up the ante on texture and flavor I added mint chocolate chips in between cake layers. I was afraid it might be a little much but my husband (who does not have a sweet tooth in the slightest) ate TWO slices. All the grownups and kids present ate every bite…so much so that this is all we were left with after dinner. That's a hit in my book! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

For the mint chocolate cake: 

I adapted our favorite chocolate birthday cake 

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp mint extract
3/4 cup hot coffee (I used decaf coffee but use whatever you prefer)

PLUS 3/4 cup mint chocolate chips during cake assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degres and prep two 8 inch round cake pans. Either butter the pans and then flour, or use a non-stick cooking spray (I like Baker's Joy)
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment mix slowly until they are all combined. In a separate bowl, stir together all the liquid ingredients except for the coffee.

Slowly pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. Pour the coffee in and use a spatula to stir together.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes and then finish cooling on a rack. Wait until completely cool before frosting.

Mint Buttercream Frosting: 

adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

4 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tsp mint extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for approximately 2 minutes until it is fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar. Begin beating again but on low to start. As the butter and sugar start to incorporate raise the speed to medium and add in the cream and the extracts. 

Beat on medium-high for 4-5 minutes, adding cream or powdered sugar to adjust the consistency. You want it to almost look like it's whipped cream towards the end. This will give you that nice light and fluffy frosting. 

To assemble cake: 

Place one cake round on your plate or platter. Spread a layer of frosting across the top of cake and then sprinkle the 3/4 cup of mint chocolate chips over it. Place the second layer on top of that and frost the top with the rest of the frosting. If you want, roughly chop a few ounces of dark chocolate and sprinkle on the top of the cake as a garnish. Mint leaves or more chocolate chips would be great too! 

Apple Cobbler

You want to know how easy this recipe is? This is one of the first things I learned how to make on my own when I was a kid. For some reason I had gotten hooked on the Frugal Gourmet show and my grandmother gave me this cookbook for Christmas one year. Somewhere along the line we tried this cobbler and it was such a hit that we just kept making it and making it. My Dad was always roped in to peel the apples since he could take the peel off in one continuous piece-which is a talent guaranteed to make you a hit with young children.
Once you get the apples chopped there's a little bit of sautéing and mixing and you're good to go. The butter in the baking dish makes the outside crisp up just a little and then the inside is a delicious mix of fruit and cake. The consistency almost reminds me of a gooey cake-it's set just enough to be considered a cake.
Let's just say that we made this for a dinner with friends last night and there was just enough left for me to photograph this morning...and then I promptly ate the leftovers. My only regret is there isn't any left to have with my tea this afternoon.

Apple Cobbler
adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith

Ingredients:
2 pounds apples, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick butter, divided in half (each half should be 1/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Melt 1/4 cup of the butter and set aside.

Begin to melt the other 1/4 cup butter and then add in the apples. Sauté the apples until they begin to get soft. Add 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and the rest of the sugar together. Stir in the milk until completely combined.

Pour the melted butter that you set aside into the bottom of 9x9 baking pan or similar/medium sized casserole dish (a slightly larger rectangular pan will work too, but start checking it at about 40 minutes instead of 50). Pour the batter on top of the butter and spread in an even layer. Then pour the apple mixture on top of that and make sure that covers the batter.

Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm or room temperature.

Ice Cream Pie....with Ninjas

In retrospect, rolling in from a weekend away straight to Ben's birthday might not have been our best idea. We had planned on doing a small party over the following weekend, but we quickly realized while we were traveling that Ben was having a rough time with the trip. Sometimes we forget just how much our little guy has gone through in his first few years of life and for whatever reason the trip set off a lot of anxiety. I'm not sure if it was the airplane ride, or just the amount of people around, or something else entirely. No matter what, it quickly became clear that by the time we returned home he would be a complete wreck if threw a large birthday party. 

Between adoption and the military we are experts at changing things up at the last second. We gave him a family party on his actual birthday instead. No crowds. Just pizza and cake. Heck, I didn't even make the pizza. (It's hard to remember when we are hyper-focused on getting the kids what they need, but Mama needs to take the easy road sometimes too. I might prefer my homemade pizza, but I know the kids are just as happy to have takeout. This is not something I am good at remembering.) 

Ben really wanted a Ninjago cake, so since I knew there was no way I could make and decorate in the time I had so I went a different route. What's more refreshing in the summer than ice cream cake? It was fast, easy, and delicious....and I could pop a few Ninja figures on the top and be good to go. Thankfully, it was a hit with kids and grownups alike!

Of course, I couldn't resist fancy-ing it up a bit :)  The caramel sauce and homemade whipped cream add a rich touch, and if I had been making this for grownups only I would have made it salted caramel sauce. It would be so easy to change up the flavors of this cake. Cookies and cream ice cream with an oreo crust? Strawberry and vanilla with a chocolate sauce layer instead of the caramel? So many options! 

And because I can't resist a cute picture of the birthday boy...here's an action shot!

Ice Cream Pie

adapted from Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson and The Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson

Ingredients

For the crust: 

12 oz graham crackers (about 21/2 sleeves from a box)

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the Filling:

1 pint chocolate ice cream, slightly softened

1/2 caramel sauce

1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

For the topping:

1 1/2 heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

To make the crust:

Put graham crackers, butter and chocolate chips in a food processor and blitz until they are completely combined. Press into pie plate so that there is an even layer on the bottom and sides. My pie plate is on the small side and I didn't need quite all of mixture, so don't worry if you have extra. Place in the freezer for at least an hour until the crust is solid. 

To make the topping:

Meanwhile, using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Set aside. 

Assembly:

Take the crust out of the freezer. Scoop chocolate ice cream into crust and smooth into an even layer (about 1-2 inches deep). Pour caramel sauce over chocolate ice cream and even it out as well. Pop in the freezer for a minute or two so it hardens up a little. Scoop the vanilla ice cream and mold into another 2 inch layer. Add the whipped cream to the top and smooth out so that it completely covers the pie. If you want, drizzle some chocolate or caramel sauce over the top of the pie. Freeze for another hour until solid. 

I used a warm knife and was able to cut straight from the freezer, but you could also just take it out a few minutes before you plan to serve it. 

Snickerdoodle Gooey cake

I had never heard of gooey cakes until last year. They started popping up in my blog reader and the combination of cake base topped with a sticky, buttery topping caught my eye. It wasn't until I was flipping through the Smitten Kitchen cookbook looking for a dessert to take to a potluck that I found a version that I had to make immediately. Deb's recipes tend to have that affect on me.

The thing that sticks out about this gooey cake is the topping. Cinnamon and sugar forms a thin crust over the creamy center, reminiscent of a creme brûlée. Cinnamon and sugar are not fancy flavors-they remind me more of a favorite breakfast (cinnamon-sugar sprinkled over hot, buttered toast) than they do of a fancy dessert. 

The cake cuts into bars and ends up being perfect for toting along to an event. It feeds a crowd and is something different than everything else on the table. 'Tis the season for barbecues, picnics, and potlucks. This won't disappoint, and there won't be any leftovers either! 

Snickerdoodle Gooey Cake

adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, by Deb Perelman

Ingredients:

For the base:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

3/4 sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

For the gooey layer:

1/4 cup honey (or light corn syrup)

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

For the topping: 

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9x13 pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with a nonstick spray. 

For the base:

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer or stand mixer until the color lightens. Pour in the milk and the egg and mix until combined. 

Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt) and then add into the wet ingredients. Beat until just mixed together.

Pour the dough into the pan and spread out until bottom of pan is covered. Put aside.

For the gooey layer:

Back in the mixer, beat the butter and sugar together. Add in the egg and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of bowl when needed. Whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Pour in 1/3 of the flour and mix until just combined. Add in 1/2 the honey mixture and do the same. Repeat until all the flour and honey mixture have been mixed in. Careful not to overmix here. Pour over the base layer and spread until evenly covering it. 

For the topping:

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and pour in an even layer over the entire cake.

Bake for 25 minutes. The gooey layer will still be, well, gooey under the topping. Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then lift out using the parchment paper and cool completely on a cooling rack. Once cool, cut into bars. 

Strawberry Icebox Cake

One of my favorite about the military life is having friends all over the country. It's especially fun this time of year as I watch the end of the school year announcements pour in. Here in Oklahoma we are already halfway through summer since our school year ended in May, but my friends in New England (where I grew up) just got out a week or two ago. Every time I open up Facebook I feel a twinge of jealousy at all the pictures of the beach and sailboats!  

It occurred to me this year that the end of school seems to be tied with the beginning of strawberry season. Our Oklahoma strawberries peaked in late May/early June. Up in New England though the berries are still in full swing, just as the kids are getting out of school. Maybe that is why I love to see the fresh strawberries begin to appear in the garden and on the grocery store shelves. They are the first real harbinger of summer. They epitomize the bright, fresh feeling I have at the start of the season. Of course, the summer I love is really the New England or San Francisco summer, where you are still wearing sweaters and jeans half the time. Summer in the Great Plains, with 100+ degree days and no clouds is taking some getting used to. 

This icebox cake is perfect for the beginning of summer. The flavor of the strawberries is front and center, with a dash of lemon to enhance them even more. Alternating layers of strawberries, whipped cream and graham crackers turn into a light and refreshing dessert after sitting overnight in the fridge. The whole thing is assembled in less than 20 minutes and can be made ahead. An added bonus for those of us in the middle of the heatwave? No oven required. 

No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake
adapted from The Kitchn


Ingredients:
2 pounds strawberries
4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 c confectioners sugar
zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla
4 sleeves graham crackers

Wash, hull and thinly slice the strawberries. Put the cream, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl to use a hand mixer). Place the bowl of ingredients and the whisk attachment to the mixer into the fridge for about 10 minutes. Once they've chilled a little bit, whisk the mixture until stiff peaks form.

Place a few spoonfuls of whipped cream on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place 6 graham crackers on the bottom of the pan and then cover with a real layer of whipped cream. Then cover the whipped cream with the sliced strawberries. Do this 3 more times until you have four layers total of the graham crackers. Cover the top with whipped cream and one last layer of strawberries.

Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, but overnight is even better. Serve cold.

Dinosaurs, Power Rangers and Superheroes..oh my!

A few months ago, my baby turned 5. I have no idea how this happened, because I could swear it was only yesterday that he was learning to walk. I blinked and he's learning to read.

The thing about turning 5 is that you REALLY care about your birthday party. Last year we threw together a quick Star Wars party by making some pool noodle light sabers and cupcakes and we were good. This year though, the birthday was the talk of the family for months. The theme! The cake! The venue! Piñata or no piñata? There were days that I spent more time discussing the merits of various Power Rangers as cake toppers than I did on our wedding!

In the end he couldn't decide on a theme. We narrowed it down to the dinosaurs, Power Rangers and Superheroes. He requested a chocolate cake. After that I had to cut him off until the day before the party and then he could decide what he wanted on the cake. As you can see from the picture he chose dinosaurs. (Stegosaurus, of course!) I could swear that there was no persuasion on my part, but I was dino-crazy as a kid and I'm having waaaaaay too much fun being dino-crazy as a Mom to not try to sway him :)

The cake itself is one of my standbys. It's a slightly adapted version of one of the Barefoot Contessa's chocolate layer cakes. I chose not to use the frosting she recommends and instead went for a creamy chocolate buttercream from Joy the Baker. Neither recipe is overcomplicated, and the taste of the chocolate shines through. Don't be off-put by the coffee in the cake recipe. I usually use decaf in case anyone is avoiding caffeine but don't worry that it will taste like coffee. It just greatly enhances the flavor of the chocolate. You won't notice that it is there, but you will notice if it's not.

This is a worthy party cake, but not one that is too fancy for a casual get-together. Don't wait too long to try it!


Chocolate Cake
slightly adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee (I used decaf coffee but use whatever you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350 degres and prep two 8 inch round cake pans. Either butter the pans and then flour, or use a non-stick cooking spray (I like Baker's Joy)
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment mix slowly until they are all combined. In a separate bowl, stir together all the liquid ingredients except for the coffee.

Slowly pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. Pour the coffee in and use a spatula to stir together.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes and then finish cooling on a rack. Wait until completely cool before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream frosting
slightly adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

3/4 c unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c heavy cream
1/3 Ovaltine powder

Using the stand mixer with a paddle attachment again, cream the butter, cocoa powder and salt together. Add in the powdered sugar and scrape down the sides before mixing on low. Immediately add in the milk and vanilla. Keep beating at a medium speed until it's smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and Ovaltine. Pour into the mixer (still on medium speed) and mix until smooth. If the consistency is too thick or thin, adjust it by adding more milk or more powdered sugar until it's what you are looking for. Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before frosting.

To assemble the cake:
Place one cake on the cake stand and frost the top. Place the second cake on top of it. Using an offset spatula, frost a very thin layer around the entire cake (this is called the crumb layer and it will keep the crumbs from showing through the main layer of frosting). Proceed in the same way to do a thicker layer  of frosting over the whole cake. I prefer to make this cake a little bit messy looking, rather than aiming for a totally smooth look, but it's really your preference.