Chocolate Birthday Cake

Last Friday a few of us got together for my good friend Amanda's birthday to enjoy a night of guacamole, drinks and of course, cake. I can't imagine celebrating a birthday without cake, and even if it isn't in its traditional form there are so many cupcake and ice cream options! I decided to whip up one of my favourite chocolate cake recipes - this one by Ina Garten - and as much as I love chocolate on chocolate I always think it looks so pretty with white icing. I also attempted some decorations (A Beautiful Mess inspired) by melting some chocolate and piping it into Eiffel Towers (Amanda is a big France fan) and they looked great! Only problem was when it came to putting them on the cake they melted instantly and I lost all but four! Even those lonely four didn't make it very far, as soon as I stepped outside in the humidity their peaks collapsed - but lucky for me Eiffel Towers also look a lot like capital A's - win. I shaved some chocolate on the top and it looked just as nice. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease two round cake pans and line with parchment, grease again and lightly dust with flour. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, power and salt. In a separate bowl beat together the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. On low speed gradually add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until combined. Add in the coffee stirring just until mix and being sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Evenly pour the batter into each of the pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least thirty minutes before removing from the pans. Place them on a rack until cooled all the way through.

For the icing, I used a really old recipe from my Nana's collection that is a simple buttercream - sugar, butter and heavy cream. Either of the recipes from Ina or a Beautiful Mess will work great! The cake was enjoyed by all and their were many exclamations of "This cake is so moist!!" - which is completely true. Happy Birthday Amanda!

Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies

A couple weekends ago, we spent my friend Amanda's bachelorette weekend up at the cottage relaxing, laughing, and stuffing our faces. We managed to eat half a watermelon in less than a day, a whole lot of chips and of course some (necessary) baked goods. Amanda had mentioned on her own blog that she didn't think there were any recipes that could beat out the fudgey brownie box mixes - I accepted the challenge! I looked through my pins and favourite food blogs and decided on a recipe deemed "the best peanut butter brownies you'll ever have" on A Cup of Jo. She was not kidding. These brownies are dense, rich, fudgey, and of course chocolatey - everything you want in a brownie. All the girls loved them and we were sneaking slivers out of the fridge until they were gone (which didn't take very long). If you need something for a girls night, a family night, a games night or you just want some chocolate - make these, you will not be disappointed.

Chocolate Brownies

6 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate

3/4 cup salted butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp of brewed coffee, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9x9 square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a small saucepan over a pot of boiling water, stirring continuously until smooth, then remove from heat. Whisk in the white and brown sugar. Mix in the coffee and vanilla. Beat in the eggs. Gradually add in the flour just until it is combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out (mostly) clean and let them cool.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 

(not natural)

1/4 cup salted butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Beat together the peanut butter and butter until combined. Add in the vanilla and icing sugar and beat until smooth. When the brownies have cooled frost and sprinkle with chocolate. Store in the refrigerator for 4 days.

If you haven't figured it out yet, these brownies definitely came out as victors in the boxed-brownie-mix challenge. They were a great post-dinner, pre-board games treat that made our bachelorette weekend extra special. These brownies are best straight from the fridge and washed down with the drink of your choice - either milk, or some red wine perhaps?