chocolate buttercream frosting

First thing… can you please go vote for me at Movita’s place! Then I’ll explain…

And remember this isn’t about the best cake- it’s a popularity contest people. So just vote for me ok!!! Although, there are some pretty slick jobbies over there. But trust me, if you could sink your teeth into this chocolate cake, I guarantee it would rock your world.

I ran across movitabeaucoup this winter and must say, I was moved by her wit, charm and clever contests. I’m not usually one to participate in this sort of thing, a contest, but this time I decided I’d give it a go. Clueless where to start, I began trying to decide fruity or chocolaty. I thought and thought about what to bake. Despite the flood of ideas, just one, and only one, failed to surface and I procrastinated a bit. Then sweet Movita posted a chocolate cake she made for her mother’s birthday. So call me unoriginal or brilliant but I decided if this was the cake she baked for her mother… someone should bake it for her. And we were all very happy with that decision, despite another 3# on the scale! It was incredible. The first words out of my almost 14yr old daughter, Chloe, was foodgasm. I was proud and scared in the same moment.

I had so much fun making it. I had a new box of Valrhona chocolate baking powder and a new bottle of vanilla… which I do not take for granted anymore as it isn’t easy to come by in Hamburg. We see a lot of recipes calling for a packet of vanilla sugar.

Continue reading →

It would take days to exhaust the chocolate cupcake recipes in print and on the web. I started with the few cookbooks I have here in Hamburg (about 30). My baking books and of course “Joy of Cooking”. Unsatisfied with what I had in print, I spent far too long online. It’s like shopping for a dress or a CAR. These chocolate cupcakes were going to be sold in a ‘Taste of the Globe’ sale after all. My daughter’s reputation first, then mine on the line at the tenuous age of 8th grade and borderline mid-life… assuming I live till 88. Oh my god, I’m potentially over the half way mark. This isn’t about me though. Well it is MY blog. Right. Car shopping. You find one you love in the first go round but you are required to continue searching and cross-referencing to confirm your initial gut feeling.

The Joy of Baking came up within the top five on the first page of a google search for ‘chocolate cupcakes’. The recipe is simple and clean. And so good. I made them yesterday to give them that day of rest. Cupcakes, in my opinion, peak after a 24 hour rest and are delicious for a solid day maybe two, then start to dry out. Of course they rarely last too long unless you keep making 2 doz for 3 people. This batch though was for export… well minus three…. or four.

Continue reading →