Baking with the Boys

My mom celebrated her birthday on Sunday and she has an amazing – legendary, really – sweet tooth.  The richer, thicker, sweeter the BETTER.  Since it was her birthday dessert was definitely her choice.  She wanted a chocolate cake with whipped cream icing. 

The kids LOVE grandma.  A lot.  They love cake.  Only slightly less than grandma.  So, they were thrilled to help in the kitchen.  I usually make a version of a wacky cake but decided to try a different recipe this time.  The cake came together easily.  I originally tried to fill it with some homemade ganache, but I was having issues in that kitchen that day.  It never set up so I finally resorted to some chocolate mint ganache from Crate and Barrel.  I topped it with whipped cream and served with homemade chocolate chip ice cream.

After dessert, we high fived to gluttony. 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Dark Chocolate Cake (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 – 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.