*birthday cake!*

happy birthday, jill!!  everyone deserves a real live cake for their birthday, don't you think??  scratch-made, from a box, i don't care - you've just gotta be able to make a wish and blow out some candles :)  yesterday was my sis-in-law's birthday, so needless to say, it was baking time.  yay!

the recipe du jour was a classic chocolate layer cake recipe from one of my favorite magazines, cooking light (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222537).  their cake recipes always look so nice and i've wondered how they compare.

the things that stand out in this recipe to me are...

1. the chocolatey-ness is 100% cocoa powder-derived (no melted chocolate or chunks)

2. egg beaters instead of whole, real eggs

3. 3/4 cup of boiling water...?

4. 3/4 low fat sour cream (not a revelation, but still informative)

usually i'm not super crazy about chocolate anything recipes that only call for cocoa powder because the chocolate taste ends up being dry and chalky.  not so in this recipe!  i wonder if the boiling water serves as a way to steep the cocoa...does that even make sense??  but my astute nephew made the observation that the cake tasted like pudding!  cocoa powder + low fat sour cream (replacement for heavy cream, perhaps?) + boiling water = pudding?  sure!  that definitely makes sense!

the cake was moist and firm without being too dense or rigid (a nice attribute when frosting and stacking time comes around) and the taste was chocolatey without being too rich - a difficult feat, no doubt.

upon jill's request, i made a swiss meringue buttercream (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Swiss-Meringue-Buttercream-109239).  i've used this recipe before and there are only two words;  buttery deliciousness.  as it says on the recipe, it makes a TRUCKload, so definitely halve it, if you're gonna make it for one cake.  i halved it and still had plenty left, so i'll try 1/3 next time.

if the idea of using a double-boiler seems daunting or too much fuss, it's not.  it takes about 5 minutes and is comPLETEly worth it in the end.  word to the wise - as the water is coming to a simmer on the stove, leave the bowl OFF of the pan until you're ready to go.  nobody wants scrambled eggs in their icing... :)  really, it's a fool-proof recipe that tastes amazing and works beautifully for decorating (the astonishingly high butter content makes it easy to smooth with your offset spatula).  try it!!

i'll be getting a picture of this cake soon, so i'll post one asap!  i'm working on my decorating skills (somebody needs to take a wilton class at joanne's, stat!...hahaha) and having fun in the process! :)

that's all for now!  i have a request to do popovers for my next blog...check back soon!

til next time,
pastrylady xo