FOR THE CAKE

Happy one-day-late Big Decade Birthday ! to my beautiful Mama. 

Here's that recipe for the cake. I'm glad you liked it, even if it did keep Susie up til four in the morning. Tell her I'll be over soon to polish off another slice. It takes a community to keep a caffeine-sensitive chocolate lover safe! And for all the rest of you friends, if you're looking for a special occasion keeper, this one is great.

xo

and Happy Spring!

(I think)

ONE-BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is just the cake you need for a birthday, when there’s so much else to do. It creates hardly any dishes, bakes up in a flash, and truly is worthy of any important day. It’s from Martha Stewart Living, April 2010. If you want to see a picture, and you do, because it's beautiful and actually looks just like this when you make it! click on over here.

for the cake:
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 and ½ cups granulated sugar
1 and ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
¾ cup buttermilk or yogurt
¾ cup warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

for the frosting:
6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 and ½ sticks butter, softened
2 and ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
¾ cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, buttermilk, water, oil, and vanilla, and mix for another 2-3 minutes, or until smooth. Pour the batter into 2 greased 8-inch cake pans (if you don’t have these, you can also use a Bundt pan). Bake for 35 minutes, or until just set.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving plate or cake stand. Let it cool to room temperature before frosting.

To make the frosting, cream the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat in the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt, then slowly beat in the melted chocolate. Finally, beat in the sour cream until you get a smooth frosting.

You should have four cups of frosting.* Frost the top of one layer with 2 cups, then place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides with the remaining 2 cups. If you aren’t going to serve the cake in the next few hours, refrigerate it until you’re ready.

*Note: If you don’t like too much frosting or you make only a single layer cake, you can easily halve the frosting recipe.