Chocolate Cake, Last Minute

On Friday, Husband and I made last minute plans to have dinner with his mother and aunt. His aunt had been having a week-long craving for chocolate cake with chocolate icing...so, I think you know where this is going.

Since I only had about an hour and half to make this cake, I cheated. See, when I first started making cakes I would use a cake mix since I was more concerned about practicing my decorating techniques. However, I'm learning that a pretty cake and a will-make-you-wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-in-a-cold-sweat-craving-cake cake is what I ultimately wanted. So, by using a mix, I cheated.

If you must know what mix I used, I used a Betty Crocker mix. The Triple Chocolate Cake mix to be exact. The cake does turn out to be pretty good, and of the chocolate cake mixes that I've tried, I think that one is the best.



Honestly, though - an hour and half really isn't enough time to make a cake. I had to level these puppies and stick them in the fridge to get their temperature down enough so I felt okay icing them. And then for icing, I melted some chocolate and the half hour that I gave it to cool wasn't enough. That's why the icing looks so speckled - I wasn't able to get the temperature of the chocolate down low enough before it hit the whipped cream (yes, I said whipped cream).

So to ice the cake I knew that I wanted something light. Nothing in the realm of a ganache (too rich) or a buttercream (to heavy and buttery). So I made a chocolate whipped cream. Just look at it...If it makes you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat craving cake...well, you know where to find me.


Chocolate Whipped Cream
made up by yours truly. If you want to fill and ice an 8- or 9-inch cake, double the recipe below.

4 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1) Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a small pot of boiling water (aka a double boiler). When chocolate is just melted, let cool to room temperature, but do not allow to become firm again.

2) After chocolate has cooled, whip the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla to a stiff consistency (but not buttery).

3) Fold in the melted chocolate.

Note: Since my chocolate was still a tad too warm, it wasn't incorporating smoothly into the whipped cream and I stuck it back onto the KitchenAid and whipped it. Which is also an option for you - if you so desire. However, I'm convinced somewhere in my soul that folding the chocolate into the whipped cream is the most desired technique.