"But, Everyday's My Birthday" Cake

I may not be the most observant person, but I'm not so blind as to not notice someone birthday when they've made a bit of a hullabaloo about it. Trying to convince me two months later that your birthday is two days away, well, I'm not going to buy that.

But that doesn't mean I won't bake a cake. I'll take any excuse to bake something. All you've got to do is ask. And then give me some time to get my act together and find my go-to recipe (that I usually use for ice cream cakes... but oh well).

So this time, I baked the cake (I wasn't supposed to do it alone, but I didn't realize that...) and then other people decorated it, after realizing what I was doing and getting all excited. I brought a pastry bag and a couple tips with me, and decorating is not really my thing, so I was more than happy to oblige.

It was kind of crazy, and corresponded with Lost starting up again, so the floor was quite quiet. And the person the cake was for disappeared right after we gave it to him. I wonder what happened to the cake. It was just sitting on the table last time I looked.



Moist and Devilish Chocolate Cake (aka my go to Chocolate Layer Cake Base)
from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book
Makes 1 9-inch cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup neutral oil
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease and flour a 9x3" round cake pan.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk in sugar, followed by oil.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir into the flour mixture. Gradually whisk in boiling water until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan (if your pan is smaller, pour 2/3 way up the sides and use remaining batter to make cupcakes.)

Bake 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Another Buttercream Frosting
adapted from somwhere, I need to stop scribbling recipes onto scraps of paper

1 stick (4 oz) butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 t. salt
4-5 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in a medium-large bowl until fluffy, about 30 seconds. Beat in sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla until no lumps remain and the frosting is fluffy!

Use as desired. Spread on with a knife or spatula, pipe on with a bag, or do whatever else it is you do with buttercream frosting.