In general my second least favorite cake is a chocolate cake (first would be a carrot cake). Just like some of us who have sworn off tequilla or a vodka martini because of that one blessed night of excess in college, I had written off chocolate cake after over indulging in one that I came from a boxed mix. Not to hate on boxed mixes but this box of chocolate cake must have been lingering in my mom’s pantry for months. I baked it and ate the disgusting cake frosted with an even more disgusting readymade icing. It was tramatic. It is still tramatic come to think of it. The excessive sweetness, the goopy icing, the weird crumb, the after taste.
Not too long ago, specifically three days ago, I finally decided to rekindle my love for a chocolate cake. My goal while looking for a recipe was to find one that used cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips, minimal amounts of sugar, and preferrably no eggs (for me it makes the cake smell funny).
I found what I needed on Joyofbaking.com. As an added bonus, the cake took 7 minutes to put together and another 25 minutes to bake it. In some parts of the country it would take just that long to drive to the store to buy a boxed mix. More importantly the cake tasted like chocolate instead of sugar. Not to say it isn’t sweet, becuase it is, but not overly sweet. Goldilocks said it best, it was just right.
I baked the cake to get a head start on celebrating Komal’s birthday. I figured the best way to surprise someone is to bring them cake no where near their actual brithday. It really works. This birthday chocolate cake was topped with dark chocolate ganache, fresh strawberries and, since Komal needs to work on her candle blowing skills, also with some candle wax and possible saliva. Happy early Birthday Komal! It was fun baking you this cake.
Visit JoyofBaking.com for the recipe and an accompanying video.
It looks yummiee…
Do you have left overs???
it's all gobbled up! May be you'd like an early birthday present?