of fairy wands and princesses


Bug Bug's birthday party was a lot of fun. The cake came out cute and tasted great, and the fairy wands were a hit. Bug had a really good time. She even napped in her bouncy house, which was pretty funny.







The cake is my mom's standard chocolate cake recipe. I made it twice, in two 9x13 pans, and stacked them. We had plenty of cake.

Chocolate Fudge Cake
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 1/4 C sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter
2 1/4 C light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 C sour cream (light is okay)
1 C boiling water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of two 9" pans or a 9x13" pan with parchment paper. Melt chocolate (I usually do it 30 seconds at a time, in the microwave). Cool. Sift cake flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Beat butter 'til soft in a large bowl. Add brown sugar and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Beat in vanilla and cool chocolate. On low speed, mix in dry ingredients alternately with sour cream until batter is smooth. Stir in boiling water. (Batter will be thin!) Pour into pans; bake 35 minutes at 350F. The cake should spring back when pressed with a finger, or a cake tester should come out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then invert on wire racks and peel off parchment. Invert again (so the cakes are face-up) and cool completely. Frost. (I used a standard bakery frosting recipe with 3 parts butter, 1 part shortening [I know, I know], powdered sugar, vanilla, a little almond extract, and cream/milk.)

Bonus: Chocolate Fudge Frosting
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 C milk
2 tsp vanilla

Melt butter and chocolate over double boiler (or very low heat). In bowl of mixer, beat powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Add chocolate, and beat well. Set the bowl over a bowl of ice water and beat until lightened in color and spreadable. If it gets too cold or thick, add a tiny bit of milk at a time and beat until the consistency is right.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Everything came out absolutely adorable!!