Willy Wonka I am not...

I am have been having a bit of a problem lately...and it has everything to do with chocolate. It started off with Nigella Lawson's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake. My father-in-law was over for dinner one night and I was trying to whip up this beauty for him. Good thing he left before it was done. The loaf cake was supposed to look like this:









This is my version:















It was still delicious...you just had grab the crumbs with your fingers to dish it up.

That happened about two weeks ago so by the time last Sunday night rolled around, I was feeling inspired to try something new. I found a recipe for Chocolate Almond Biscotti on The City Sage blog. Once again, should look like this:



















Now my version:















Yeah, that is not a picture of them. They were so ugly that I could not bring myself to take pictures of them to post. Tasted great though!

Last, but certainly not least, was the birthday cake for my friend. She loves yellow cake with chocolate icing. Easy enough! Over the weekend, I went to the store and made sure I had all my ingredients so I could whip it up on Wednesday. A cake and 4 lbs. of meatballs for the party...easy cheesy.

Upon checking in with her on Tuesday, you can imagine the complete and utter surprise that washed over me when she told me that she wanted a chocolate on chocolate cake.

Chocolate squared? Damn. This project was doomed from the beginning.

I did not want to make a cake from the box but I wanted my homemade cake to be moist. After searching for about 20 minutes, I came across the infamous "Better Than Sex Cake". The recipe looked interesting enough and I thought it would be funny to bring it due to the fact that all of the people at the party had 1-3 kids.

Baking the cake was great until I tried to take it out of the pan. Part of my baking problem is that I continuously use aluminum baking pans because I am always afraid that glass will make the cake too dry. A nice 9"x13" cake pan is going down on my Christmas List.
















I can hear my older brother laughing right now because yes, it did bear a slight resemblance to a cow-pie. Anyways, here is the recipe I followed. The whiskey gave it a weird aftertaste so I would advise cutting back the whiskey to 1/4 cup and adding 6 oz. of coffee instead of 4 oz...or maybe spending more then $10 on the whiskey. Completely your choice.

Better Than Sex Chocolate Cake
Courtesy of GG

2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup whiskey
4 fluid ounces strong brewed coffee

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine flour and white sugar in a large bowl and set aside.

3. Put 1/2 cup buttermilk into a large glass and add baking soda, stir until combined, set aside.

4. In medium sauce pan over medium heat combine water, shortening, 1/2 cup butter and 4 tablespoons cocoa. Stir until shortening and butter are melted. Allow to boil on medium heat for 5 minutes.

5. Add chocolate mixture to dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Add buttermilk baking soda mixture, stir until blended. Add eggs and mix. Add the whiskey and the espresso and keep mixing. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix well. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

6. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes. ( I cooked mine for 35)

7. To Make Frosting: Combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup buttermilk, and 3 tablespoons cocoa in medium sauce pan, allow to come to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and add confectioners sugar and mix well, add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour over hot cake. Allow cake to cool. The longer this sets, the better it gets!