I know it's been a long time since my last post. With a teenager in the house who isn't driving quite yet, I find myself more along the lines of chief taxi cab driver than much else... not that I'm complaining! I truly wouldn't have it any other way. The years are whizzing by. Speaking of which, my 15 year old's birthday party is this evening, so with a little time on my hands I decided to make him a chocolate cake. I wanted it to be a little special, so I did a little digging around on the internet, and thought this cake looked easy enough to make.. Boy, was I right! I finished so quickly that I even had time to share these simple instructions:
First, make your favorite chocolate cake recipe.. I'll share mine here in case you're interested.
I've found that when decorating cakes, box mixes never fail to create a nice firm foundation. I make them my own by adding the following ingredients. My family loves this recipe!
Chocolate Cake
1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 cup chocolate chips
4 eggs
1/2 cup coffee (decaf is fine)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup non fat plain yogurt
Mix all the ingredients together, saving the chocolate chips for a last minute addition prior to baking. Bake two round layers according to the box directions.
I freeze overnight or until firm. This makes icing and cutting a breeze!
Now, cut off any curved pieces, making sure that both layers are nice and flat. To hold the two layers together and create a wonderful filling, I've chosen marshmallow fluff. However my husbands favorite is raspberry jam. I like the marshmallow fluff because it hold the two layers securely together and kids love it, but you can make it your own with whatever filling you like best.
Once you've put the layers together with a nice thick layer of whatever filling you've chosen, you'll need to frost the entire outside of the cake with one quick simple layer. Here's my favorite frosting recipe:
Chocolate frosting
1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature works best)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugard
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
Blend together adding the milk last.. you'll want the frosting to be thick enough to hold the candy in place.
Now comes the really fun part!
You'll need 4 king size Kit Kat bars as well as a king size bag of your favorite M & M's.
Break the Kit Kat bars into twos. Place them side by side along the outside of the cake. Once they are in place, secure them with a thick width, beautiful ribbon of your choosing. This will hide the Kit Kat logo giving your cake a very polished finish.
As the final touch, you'll add your M & M's to the top!
Voila'! It's that easy and how fun is that?
Now that you know how easy it is, find any excuse to make one! You'll be quite proud of yourself.
Now, off I go to get ready for a birthday party...
Happy summer, my friends!
xoxo
