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!

Out & About: Tea at the Windsor Arms

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Anyone who knows me will tell you that my soul is more akin to an eighty year old grandmother than it is a twenty five year old. Though I do enjoy a good party now and again (more so if there is karaoke involved), I am just as happy, if not more, cozying up with a nice cuppa tea. That being said, it makes perfect sense that I spent my birthday weekend drinking lots of tea, watching movies, and heading downtown for afternoon tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel. For those of us in North America, Sunday was also Mother's Day so as a dual celebration we made a reservation for four a couple months ago to ensure we had a spot.

The hotel is beautiful. It is classic, small and chic and located in the luxurious Yorkville, Toronto. The tea room has three spaces of slightly different decor that seats a fair number of people without being too crowded, and design that gives your afternoon outing the right amount of elegance without being overdone.

We were seated in the contemporary 'Purple Room' and afternoon tea started with our choosing of one of about twenty loose-leaf teas. I chose a passion fruit green tea that was the perfect combination of earthy and sweet. Next came the tiers of treats. The top plate featured four different kinds of miniature cakes (from a white chocolate cup with edible gold to a mini dark chocolate cupcake), the middle plate had a variety of tea sandwiches (such as smoked salmon with caviar and sun-dried tomato cream cheese with cucumber) and the bottom plate held four homemade scones. Of course it wouldn't be a proper afternoon tea if Devon clotted cream (bringing me back to my exchange student days) and jams - mixed berry and strawberry-guava - weren't provided. Since most of the other guests were there celebrating Mother's Day it was assumed we were as well, but my Dad informed our server that it also happened to be my birthday. After we finished our plates of goodies, out she came with a white chocolate and pistachio dipped strawberry courtesy of the chef! The final course was a raspberry sorbet with a small shot of champagne poured over top - delish.

Needless to say my family and I experienced a major sugar crash-food coma afterwards, but it was well worth it. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere was cozy and elegant, and the food was nothing less than perfection. If you are ever in the Toronto area I highly recommend making time for tea at the Windsor Arms. Thanks to my wonderful family and friends for a fantastic birthday - and to my mother for giving me a birthday to celebrate!