Monday was my little Jack's second birthday. I've decided that I love birthdays. How fun is it to spend a whole day remembering and celebrating the little life that follows you around all year? A year full of learning and growing, making messes and cleaning them up, butting heads and asking for forgiveness, some tears and many smiles.
We spent the day simply. Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, cake and presents when Daddy got home. My mom was here as well which made it extra special.
Speaking of cake, while I love baking, I don't consider myself a crafty, decorate-cakes-to-look-like-elmo kind of person. BUT when I saw this cake on Facebook, I couldn't resist.
My Jack loves trucks. We will be in the kitchen and the faint rumble of the garbage truck sounds in the background. Jack will perk up, say "Tuck" and go running for the front window. We will be in the car, passing semi's on the highway and I hear from the backseat, "Tuck! Tuck!" He will spend the bulk of his day pushing mini trucks and tractor trailers around the room, parking them just so. We spend our bedtime hours reading Construction Alphabet and Little Blue Truck.
So there wasn't even a small hesitation. Construction cake was it.
And I must say, I am so happy with how it turned out. And it was easy. Spread some icing, sprinkle crushed graham crackers and place equipment. Done.
I also used a new recipe for the cake. And it was so good. Moist and rich, it's the kind of cake that everyone takes a bite and then begins to look wide-eyed around the room at the other tasters, "Are you tasting the wonderfulness that I am?"
I was a little concerned that the chocolate icing on chocolate cake would be a bit much but it was delicious. The icing has a touch of coffee in it to enhance the chocolate flavor and is very smooth and glossy.
As my mom entered the room with the construction scene and I began to snap pictures, my little two-year old's eyes lit up and he began to exclaim excitedly, "Bulldoze! Bulldoze!" He immediately took the equipment off the cake and began playing with them right then and there. In fact, he cried when I made him put them away to open more presents. I'd say he liked his cake.
Devil's Food Cake
Makes one two-layer cake
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cups boiling water
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
16 T. (2 sticks) butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
In a small bowl, combine chopped chocolate and cocoa.
Pour boiling water over the top of the chocolate and whisk until chocolate is completely melted.
Set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed for 1 minute.
Add brown sugar and beat on high for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Scrape the bowl when needed.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating for about 30 seconds after adding each egg.
Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just combined.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and the chocolate mixture to the mixer.
Add a third of the flour mixture.
Add half of the chocolate mixture.
Add another third of the flour mixture.
Add the rest of the chocolate mixture.
Add the rest of the flour mixture.
Beat until just combined. Don't overmix!
Grease two cake pans (or three if you want three layers) and line with parchment paper.
Divide batter evenly between cake pans.
The batter should look billowy and delicious and very tempting to the birthday boy.
If using two cake pans, place them side by side on the center rack.
If using three, place two pans side by side on the top rack and the third on the center of the bottom rack.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes (depending on how many pans you used) at 350 degrees, until toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.
Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan.
To remove cake from the pan: run a paring knife around the edge of the pan to loosen cake. Put a large plate over the top of your cake pan. Holding tightly, flip the plate and cake pan.Remove pan and parchment paper. Place cooling rack over inverted cake and flip once again.
Let cake cool completely before icing.
Recipe from Baking Illustrated.
Glossy Chocolate Icing
Makes about 3 cups
8 T. butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. instant coffee
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk in sugar, cocoa and salt.
It will look really thick.
Whisk together cream, sour cream and instant coffee in a large measuring cup.
Whisk cream mixture into chocolate mixture. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, 1 - 2 minutes. Do not boil.
Off the heat, add vanilla.
Let cool to room temperature.
The resulting icing is similar to a dark chocolate ganache.
I like to add powdered sugar to sweeten it a little and make spreading easier.
But you don't need to add the sugar if you prefer the dark flavor.
Beat in powdered sugar to taste. I usually add about 1 1/2 cups.
This recipe makes a lot of icing; the perfect amount for the cake and decorating the sheet pan.
If you just use it for the cake, you will have some left over.
Assembly
Place one of the cooled cake on the right side of an upside down sheet pan.
Spread a layer of icing on top of cake and then place the second cake on top.
Holding a knife at a 45 degree angle, gouge out a hole in the top of the cake.
Ice the rest of the cake as normal, except for the hole.
Crush some chocolate graham crackers to make a dirt pile and
stick your mini skid-steer loader on top of the cake.
Ice the rest of the sheet pan and sprinkle more chocolate graham dirt on top of icing. Make another pile and stick your mini dump truck and bulldozer to the side of it.
Then stand back and say, "I'm an awesome mom!"
No comments:
Post a Comment