Double, double toil and trouble...

 

  This decadent recipe is a sublime combination of two of my favourite things; coffee and chocolate.  That said, it also happens to be the perfect recipe for Halloween ~ minus the eye of newt and the other disagreeable ingredients of course!

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,"
     ~William Shakespeare; Macbeth
   
     Double chocolate, double layers of cake and a cup of Tim Horton's double-double coffee; this recipe combines it all to make one delicious cake!  Not familiar with a double double? It's Canada's most popular Tim Horton's coffee with double the cream and double the sugar. Double your pleasure!

Double-Double Chocolate Cake

You will need:

2 oz  bittersweet Baker's chocolate
2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups  granulated sugar
½ cup  cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp  baking powder
1 tsp  salt
1 cup  buttermilk (*see recipe below)
½ cup  vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp  pure vanilla extract
1 cup  double-double coffee from Tim's

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions.  Stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 350°f (180°c). Butter and flour two 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans.
• *To make  buttermilk ~ place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.  Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.  Let stand for five minutes.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl until well combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low speed. Add the melted chocolate and the double-double coffee and mix just until combined.
•  Pour the batter into the pans, spreading evenly.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. *Cool the cakes in the pans until they are easy to handle, then move them to a wire baking rack.

 For the chocolate icing:

2 oz  bittersweet Baker's chocolate
1 cup  unsalted butter, softened
2 cups  icing sugar
¼ cup  whipping cream

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Whip the butter in the bowl with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the melted and cooled chocolate and mix until combined.
• Slowly add the icing sugar to the chocolate mixture.
•  Add the whipping cream.
•  Continue mixing until the icing is smooth and thoroughly combined.
• Whisk on high for 1 minute more or until the icing is smooth and spreadable.

When cakes are cooled, invert one layer onto a cake platter. Spread the top with chocolate icing. Place the second cake on top of the icing. Spread the remaining icing evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

*Recipe from The Harrow Fair Cookbook: Prize-Winning Recipes Inspired by Canada’s Favourite Country Fair by Moira Sanders and Lori Elstone with Beth Goslin Maloney (Whitecap 2010).

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Birthdays are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake.

How beautiful is this cake?!

I can say this because I did not bake it myself. This baked beauty was made especially for me by my very good friend to celebrate my birthday. What's great about this cake, besides the fact that it looked and tasted fantastic, was that it was totally unexpected. Nothing makes a birthday more special than an unexpected surprise. 

I'm not one to be over the top about my own birthday. Don't get me wrong... I love birthdays, just not my own.  Nothing gives me more pleasure than celebrating some one's birthday and making them feel special. When the tables are turned however, I feel a bit uncomfortable by all of the attention. I must say though, that this cake made my day. It was so delicate and feminine, almost too good to eat! It had a delicious almond flavour and a light and fluffy icing topped with pink and cream chocolate shavings. It was decadent and delicious. While I can't share the recipe I just had to share the photos and give kudos to my wonderful and thoughtful friend. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. 

Pretty in pink!

Calories don't count if they're connected to a celebration.

      What's more cheerful than a birthday cake? Seriously. What else in life comes with icing, sprinkles and good wishes?  It's the epitome of happiness. If you want to get happy, birthday cake is the way to go. It doesn't even have to be your own; birthday cakes are made for sharing!

       I am a devout fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. I've read them all and eagerly await the next one.  Her characters never cease to make me laugh and make my life seem mundane and perfectly normal by comparison.  Stephanie Plum is also a fan of birthday cake.  She often keeps at least one in her freezer for emergencies. She's also been known to go to the supermarket and cruise the bakery aisle for abandoned birthday cakes.  Did you know that you can get them for half off?  "Happy Birthday Steve!" Who's Steve? Does it really matter when you are scarfing down the last of the decadent icing roses? I think not!

       My sister in law recently had a birthday and in my current domestic goddess state I decided to bake her a birthday cake - from scratch.  Betty Crocker was not invited to this party. It didn't take long for me to find the most wonderfully decadent recipe and before I knew it I was baking up some birthday bliss.  Like birthday cake, this recipe was made to share. Be warned, this one isn't diet friendly, but as Stephanie says;

“Calories don’t count if they’re connected to a celebration. Everyone knows this.”
― Janet Evanovich, Hard Eight

  

It's My Birthday And I'll Eat Cake If I Want To

What You Need:

10 squares of Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate, divided
1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip dressing
2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp vanilla, divided
3 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup butter
3 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup milk

To Make It:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt 6 chocolate squares as directed on package; cool.
• Beat dressing, brown sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended.
• Add eggs and melted chocolate; mix well.
• Combine flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl.
• Add to chocolate mixture alternately with boiling water, mixing well after each addition.
• Pour into 2 parchment paper lined 9 inch round pans.
• Bake 30 ~ 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centres comes out clean.
• Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes.
• Remove from pans to wire racks.
• Cool completely.

For Icing:

• Meanwhile, microwave remaining chocolate squares and butter in large microwaveable bowl on medium for 1 to 2 minutes, or until butter is melted.
• Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
• Cool.
• Add icing sugar, milk and remaining vanilla and beat with mixer until well blended.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes or until icing is of desired spreading consistency.
• Stack cake layers on plate, filling and frosting with chocolate icing.

Thanks Kraft for this decadent recipe!
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/miracle-whip-fudge-cake-86699.aspx