Earlier this month, we celebrated a birthday in my office, and when I asked the birthday girl what her baked goods preference was, she mentioned chocolate. So I went straight to the "Chocolate Birthday Cakes" chapter of Lisa Yockelson's ChocolateChocolate cookbook. I decided on "My First Chocolate Birthday Cake." The name makes it sound like something a grade-schooler might produce in an Easy Bake Oven, but Yockelson explains, "Plain and simple, this layer cake most likely began the tradition of chocolate-flavored birthday cakes in my small family."
The cake batter is made from butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, unsweetened chocolate, milk, cake flour, baking soda, and salt. The Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting that goes along with the cake is made from butter, unsweetened chocolate, salt, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk.
The frosting had a nice thick consistency, and the recipe makes plenty of frosting to fill, frost, and decorate the cake. I made this cake the night before I was going to serve it, so I kept it in the refrigerator. I took it out about an hour before serving.
I thought this cake was quite good, although there a couple of things I wish I had done differently. First, the cake was slightly overbaked, even though I baked it only for the 30 minutes specified in the recipe. I used dark non-stick pans, and I think the cake would have turned out better if I had used light-colored pans or reduced the baking time. Second, the cake was still quite cold when I served it, even though I had taken it out of the refrigerator an hour before. Not only was the chocolate flavor of the cake and frosting muted because of the cake's temperature, but the frosting was solid, like cold butter. When I made the frosting, it had a luscious and creamy smooth consistency; eating it cold was just not the same. In the future, I would be sure to either store the cake covered at room temperature, or to take it out of the refrigerator several hours in advance to allow it to fully reach room temperature before serving.
I am interested in making this cake again, because I want to taste it at its full potential; I know the cake would have been much better if not overbaked and served at the proper temperature. I'm looking forward to my second attempt at My First Birthday Cake!
Recipe: "My First Chocolate Birthday Cake/Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting," from ChocolateChocolate by Lisa Yockelson.
The cake batter is made from butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, unsweetened chocolate, milk, cake flour, baking soda, and salt. The Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting that goes along with the cake is made from butter, unsweetened chocolate, salt, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk.
I thought this cake was quite good, although there a couple of things I wish I had done differently. First, the cake was slightly overbaked, even though I baked it only for the 30 minutes specified in the recipe. I used dark non-stick pans, and I think the cake would have turned out better if I had used light-colored pans or reduced the baking time. Second, the cake was still quite cold when I served it, even though I had taken it out of the refrigerator an hour before. Not only was the chocolate flavor of the cake and frosting muted because of the cake's temperature, but the frosting was solid, like cold butter. When I made the frosting, it had a luscious and creamy smooth consistency; eating it cold was just not the same. In the future, I would be sure to either store the cake covered at room temperature, or to take it out of the refrigerator several hours in advance to allow it to fully reach room temperature before serving.
I am interested in making this cake again, because I want to taste it at its full potential; I know the cake would have been much better if not overbaked and served at the proper temperature. I'm looking forward to my second attempt at My First Birthday Cake!
Recipe: "My First Chocolate Birthday Cake/Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting," from ChocolateChocolate by Lisa Yockelson.
Comments