recipe of the month

This month's recipe is for Dave's amazing birthday cake. I am not normally a cake fan, because so many times you take a bite and it is dry and crumbly. There is absolutely nothing worse than crumbly cake, in my opinion. Maybe going to a bathroom stall and finding out too late that there is no toilet paper. However, I LOVE this recipe! The cake is so moist and fudgy--truly the stuff my chocolate dreams are made of. It will definitely not disappoint your chocolate tooth.

Super Moist Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon vinegar with 1 cup regular milk)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup boiling water

In a medium bowl or your sifter, combine dry ingredients--flour, cocoa, soda, and salt. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Melt butter in microwave, add to large bowl. Put your water on to boil. Microwave buttermilk for about 30 seconds to warm it enough so that it won't cause your butter to harden. Add buttermilk to wet ingredients. Sift in dry ingredients and stir to mix. Add boiling water slowly so you don't slosh it out and burn yourself. The batter will be very thin! Do not fear! Pour into greased pans. This makes enough for two 8" or 9" round pans, or two 6" round pans and some cupcakes. Bake approximately 35 minutes at 360ish degrees (obviously less time for your cupcakes). Check after 30 minutes. If cake is done on top but a toothpick is slightly smeared with chocolate, your cakes are done. If it is still wobbly or a toothpick is wet with chocolate, continue baking for about 5 minutes and check again. Depending on your oven, you may need to repeat the process. Let cakes rest in pans for about 20 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack.

Dreamy Chocolate Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
generous 1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

When I made this frosting, I had a couple of leftover bars of chocolate that I decided to melt along with my butter. Those 3 Hershey bars took this frosting to a whole 'nother level, but they aren't totally necessary. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa and whisk together. Add butter and vanilla and whisk--mixture will be very thick. Add milk and whisk until smooth. All of these amounts are estimates--I totally just pour and guess and taste along the way until the frosting is chocolatey enough and smooth enough for me. You may need to add more powdered sugar; I usually do. I know my frosting is the right consistency when I can still stir it with a whisk but it starts to "set" when I stop stirring and leave it for about 3 minutes.

I learned how to build a cake from my cake decorating class at BYU-I: Take your cooled cake (should be completely cold. If you can freeze it overnight, you'll get less crumbs, but it's not totally necessary) and slice off the top "domes." Don't freak out if they're not perfectly level across the top--you can hide a lot with frosting. Put a smear of frosting on the cake plate and add the bottom layer. Frost only the top of the cake, as thick as you like. People like Martha and the Cake Boss do what they call a "crumb coat" but I've only ever gotten frustrated and wasted frosting that way. Plus, you're doing a cake that is the same color for both cake and frosting, so it's not a big deal. Add top layer, cut side down, and frost the top of the cake. Then start on one side and add frosting from the base of the cake to the top, spinning your cake plate as you go until you get all the way around. Then smooth out the side onto the top so it's all even. And voila! You can freeze any leftover frosting or frost some cupcakes, or just eat it with some graham crackers or a spoon--I won't tell.