Chocolate and Roses

 There are so many ways to frost a cake. You can spoon it on, schmear it on with a butter knife, you can create swirls and dips with the back of a spoon, you can create an ultra smooth exterior and you can pipe it on. I'm a big fan of super smooth frosting- it's the perfectionist in me that gets all giddy by flawless buttercream :-) I generally only pipe frosting when I'm doing a border on a cake or when decorating cupcakes. But I've wanted to try the piped "rose" look on a cake for awhile and I finally had the opportunity to. It's so easy!

I used a Wilton 2D tip to pipe this. I use this one the most because it makes great flowers and ruffles depending how much pressure you apply. This was my first time trying this so it's not perfect but this technique is good for hiding flaws too. You can go to Bella Cupcakes for a step-by-step on how to do this. 

I made a Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cake recommended by my friend Paloma and covered it in Berry Buttercream. The recipe for the cake is below, but you'll have to get my cookbook if you want the mixed berry buttercream recipe :-) You can use any buttercream recipe you want though to create the swirled roses on this cake or any other cake or cupcakes. Though I have to say, this cake was really good (and stayed moist for several days)!

Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cake 

slightly adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle via Food.com

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• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup natural cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Position oven rack in the center of the oven; preheat oven to 325°. Grease bottom and sides of a 9x3 inch round cake pan; dust the pan with flour and set aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the sugar, and using the paddle attachment, mix at low speed until blended.

Add the oil and mix a few seconds, until the dry ingredients are crumbly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs until blended.

Whisk in the milk and vanilla extract until blended.

With the mixer at low speed, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed.

Gradually add the boiling water and mix just until blended and smooth; scraping down sides as needed.

Pour batter into cake pan.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a pick comes out clean.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Invert cake onto the wire rack and cool completely. Frost as desired.

Makes 1 9-inch round cake

If you missed it, I announced the winner of the Smucker's giveaway HERE! 

Smucker's Giveaway Winner!

#34 Jennifer Ganyard is the winner of the Smucker's ice cream toppings giveaway!

Congratulations Jennifer! Email me your address please, so Smucker's can send the product out to you.

Black Bottom Cookie Bars

Have you ever had a recipe on your "to-bake bucket list" for so long that when you finally make it, you're kinda disappointed? That's how I felt about these black bottom cookie bars. Don't get me wrong, these bars were quite tasty, but not at all what I was expecting. I bookmarked this recipe from Bake or Break back in 2011 and just now made them. They were very simple to throw together. You melt butter, mix it with other ingredients, then divide the batter in half and add cocoa powder and chocolate chunks to one half, then layer and bake. I appreciate the ease, because I'm sometimes lazy in the kitchen, but I didn't love the heavy texture. 

I was hoping for a soft, chewy sugar cookie consistency, instead they were kind of dense and fudgy. We ate half then they just kind of sat around on the counter for a few days til they got stale and I eventually threw them out. Then I realized there are no leavening agents in this recipe- no baking soda, no baking powder and that probably was the reason they were a little heavy. These had great flavor and I think with a little tinkering of the recipe they could be great. However, if you like dense and fudgy treats, then leave it as is and enjoy!

Black Bottom Cookie Bars from Everyday Food via Bake or Break

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• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted 
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment, leaving about a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Lightly butter parchment.

Whisk together butter and both sugars in a large bowl. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour and salt, mixing just until moistened.

Divide batter in half, and transfer one half to a separate bowl. Stir in cocoa powder and chocolate chips until combined.

Place chocolate batter in baking pan. Spread evenly and smooth top. Spread plain batter on top of chocolate batter. Smooth top.

Bake 25-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine took longer to bake). Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Little Bit was ready for that glass of milk :-)