Lazy Happy Birthday Cake -- Easiest Homemade Cake Ever!

 

 

This is the easiest bestest most deliciousest chocolate cake on planet earth. I've mentioned it a few times before.  It's from the best food blog on earth, Smitten Kitchen. If you have time to make the whole recipe of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake your guests are very lucky.  I have made it for several birthdays or important celebrations and every time someone in the crowd says it's the best cake they have ever had.

 

Well, when you don't have time to do the whole thing, like I didn't this weekend for my friend Elisa's birthday dinner, I used the cake part of the recipe (super fast in one bowl with just a whisk!  No mixer needed even!), whipped up some cream with orange rind and orange liqueur, and did a little decorating to make it look a little more impressive. 

 

So, here's how to make a super easy birthday cake:

 

1. Soak Orange Slices (or berries!) in Orange Liqueur while you make the cake.
2. Make the Smitten Kitchen Chocolate Cake (click on the above link)
3. Whip up two (2) pint containers of heavy whipping cream with orange rind of two or three oranges (to taste), a splash of orange liqueur and some powdered sugar (to taste). 
4. Once the cake is completely cooled (seriously, completely -- don't learn the hard way, like I did! LOL!) slather whipped cream on first layer.
5.  Add orange slices (or berries!) and a sprinkle of toasted pecan pieces.
6. 
7. Proceed to the next layer.  This is a three layer cake so you have one more layer to do before you get to the top!
8. Slather the entire cake with the whipped cream -- which is so much easier to spread than frosting, so it's super fast!
9. Decorate as you see fit! 

   

 

Super Lazy Birthday Cake AND Food & Wine Mag Redeems Self

After last week's Food & Wine fava bean debacle, you would think I would set it aside for a long, long time.  Alas, no.  Once I saw the photo of the Baked Alaska Birthday Cake in the recent mag, I had to make it for my dear birthday girl friend, Elisa.

Now, I will also admit that this recipe -- http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baked-alaska-birthday-cake  -- looks unbelievably complicated.  But, it's not if you buy the chocolate pound cake.  I couldn't find any, though, so the only un-lazy part of this process was scouring several stores for it.  I settled on store-bought, store-made sliced chocolate cake in the bakery section of my Pavilions.  It worked out just dandy.

The meringue also reads a complicated AND if you've never made it you might think "How could anything that dramatic be easy?"    And it is!   Ideally you will have a standing mixer.  It will make it super easy.  It's a 4 step process.  Make the sugar syrup.  Whip the egg whites.  Throw it on the cake.  Torch it.

So, yes, you need a kitchen torch. If you don't have a kitchen torch, let me tell you it is the absolutely most amazing kitchen tool. It is SOOOOOOOOOOO fun, easy to use and it creates drama in seconds.   

I didn't do the pastry bag application of the meringue because I was a wee bit tipsy after we had all gone out for the birthday dinner....but my buddy, Daniel, who played slightly tipsy assistant, did a great job of creating peaks with the back of a spatula. 

Don't be scared of this recipe.  Also, use the birthday boy or girl's favorite ice creams.  For instance, I found out -- sadly, after the fact -- that Elisa's favorite flavors are chocolate and peanute butter. I could have used that flavor ice cream.  So choose flavors that work for the honoree.

Once it's done you can add decorations and candles galore...it all holds up just dandy!

 

 

So even when you don't make your own chocolate pound cake, people may be eating it for days....as seen in this video!  LOL!

 



 

Happy Birthday to all the Lovely Libras!!!!!  You guys are my faves!



Seriously People...Best Carrot Cake Ever in History of Mankind -- with CHOCOLATE CHIPS!

I had a very big cooking challenge on my hands this week.   I was throwing a birthday dinner party for my friend who looooooooooooooooooves Carrot Cake.  He told me the best carrot cake he ever had was at a restaurant in Kansas City that no longer exists.  I tried tracking down the recipe to no avail.  I was even in Kansas City recently and hunted around a bit.  No go.  It turns out my friend paid the chef for the recipe many years ago and makes the cake, but I didn't want to cheat and ask for it.


So, I then did the next best thing: I googled "best carrot cake ever" and found this recipe from Southern Living 1997.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/best-carrot-cake-10000000257583.

My friend is from the south so I thought that might do the trick, and it called for something I had never seen before -- a buttermilk glaze that you put over all the cakes prior to the cream cheese frosting, thus locking in the moisture. Super creative, plus adding another level of flavor with the buttermilk. I then thought "hmmm.....what about chocolate chips mixed in?"  So, I put chocolate chips in just one of the three layers -- to test it out.  I know it was risky for an important Birthday Carrot Cake, but it turned out amaaaaazing.   I put chocolate chips in only the top layer, and then.....drum roll....I put crushed the Chocolate Crisps between only the bottom two layers.

The verdict?  This cake recipe is so divine, it definitely doesn't need chocolate, but it really adds a supercalifragilisticexpialidociousness to it.  You don't need a lot.  I'd say 1/2 to 3/4 cup for the whole thing so each layer is "dotted" with them. 

But, you could also just do the crushed Crisps in between all three layers -- I'd say crush up 10 to 12 crips for each in-between layer spot.

Also, I made two alerations to the recipes -- I cut the sugar in all three elements -- cake, glaze and frosting -- by 1/4.  AND, I added about 1/4 cup -- maybe 1/3 (needs to remain spreadable, so be careful) -- buttermilk to the frosting.  It made it particularly creamy, and gave it an extra kick to offset all the sweetness.

Buon Sweet Carrot Appetito to all!

P.S. Sorry I didn't take a photo fo the cake all purdy and decorated...it looked amazing I promise!