TBB - Chocolate Cuddle Cake

Rose's Alpha Bakers embarked on a wonderful chocolate chiffon cake this week with caramel whipped cream and chocolate ganache. Also known as Chocolate Cuddle Cake. I was a bit in a hurry so I ended up taking some shortcuts: I skipped the ganache and I used my own recipe for the caramel whipped cream. The cake itself I didn't make any changes to, except I baked it in a 2-piece tube pan.

The cake was served at a dinner party at our house. It was a huge hit. Everybody had seconds and left my house happy :o) I even got a birthday cake request for this cake!

(Half naked) Chocolate Cuddle Cake

Birthday Cake

White Cake with Whipped Cream and Raspberry Gelee

I can't possibly be the only one who bakes their own birthday cake, and yet, when I tell people, they act surprised. How about you? Do you bake your own birthday cake? If you visit my blog (often), you are probably a (home) baker. And you probably don't enjoy store bought cakes that much. Partially hydrogenated frosting anyone? Okay, okay, I can be a bit of a cake snob :o)

While browsing Sandie's blog, Crumbs of Love, I was very impressed with the white cake she made for her daughter's birthday. What I liked the most was the wonderful crumb of the cake and the fact that it had sour cream in it. When my birthday came around, I had the perfect excuse to try out this recipe! One could argue that a birthday is not a time to experiment with new recipes but I had a good feeling about the recipe :o)

A slice of birthday cake heaven :o)

HCB - German Chocolate Cake

This week, the Heavenly Cake Bakers (led by Jenn of Knitty Baker) tackled the Pumpkin Cheesecake. I made this cake last November and have very fond memories of it. Definitely one of my favorite recipes from Rose's Heavenly Cakes, so give it a try this Thanksgiving (or anytime, really). My friend declared it the best cheesecake she'd ever had :o)

The German Chocolate Cake has been on my to-bake list for a while. Everyone who baked it, loved it. I can't eat coconut or pecans, so the traditional filling and frosting was out. The cake is pretty chocolatey, I heard, so I decided on a non-chocolate filling and a thin chocolate glaze. That worked really well!

A slice of chocolate heaven!

ABC - All-American Chocolate Cake with Divinity Frosting and Milk Chocolate Paint

This month's ABC of the Month recipe was chosen by Shandy of Pastry Heaven. Normally I pick the recipes but when Shandy joined, I was so happy to have her on board that I asked her to select the September recipe as a (small) token of my appreciation. She picked what was already one of my favorites from Flo Braker's "Baking for all Occasions": All-American Choc Cake with Divinity Frosting and Milk Choc Paint. The chocolate cake I have made about half a dozen times already. The divinity frosting and the milk chocolate paint were a new addition. Btw, I apologize to the ABC bakers because I forgot to mention that the book is missing instructions on *when* to add the melted chocolate. When I made this cake the first time, I added it right after incorporating the eggs to the batter. Later I found out, that's exactly when you're supposed to add it. A big thanks to Rachelino (a Heavenly Cake Baker) for posting the updated recipe on her blog. Rachelino actually met Flo Braker at a book signing and Flo hand wrote the instructions to her copy of the book. Apparently, Flo was a bit irritated that the error occurred. No worries, Flo. Your cake is still awesome!!

When I checked with hubby on how he'd like the divinity frosting, I quickly realized he wouldn't go for it. What to do? I guess I had to come up with something creative :o)

Chocolate Cake with Divinity Other Frosting and Chocolate Paint