Chocolate Wasted Cake

My boyfriend's 21st birthday was this past weekend, and this cake seemed totally appropriate. It's chocolate on top of chocolate on top of even MORE chocolate! It's insane. I had to choose between this cake and an Oreo cake, but I really just wanted to go crazy and throw tons of chocolate on a cake. Seriously, that's what you do. And what could be better? Also, chocolate has phytochemicals, which are good for you. Trust me, I'm a Nutrition major ;)

Sadly, my first wonderful cake fell. I waited too long after adding the baking soda to the wet ingredients (about 12 minutes; I was hastily buttering the pans and cutting out parchment rounds) and the baking soda reacted before I had a chance to put it in the oven. I had to resort to box mix for the cake layers, but feel free to try the original cake layer recipe. It has had many good reviews on the original website. All cake batter photographs are from the original cake recipe, not the box mix version. (I used Betty Crocker Super Moise Triple Chocolate Fudge mix).

I accidentally dropped powdered sugar on Sophia because she was under my feet! She was begging me for some cake to make up for it.

My boyfriend's 21st birthday landed on 11-11-2011 this year! And on a Friday! He survived the weekend, but a memorable experience includes him yelling at a guy with a blow-out like Pauly D, "HEY PAULY D, THIS ISN'T THE JERSEY SHORE" at an Asian restaurant while wearing these sunglasses...indoors.

Oh, and he didn't notice that the cake said 21 across the top for three days (until he saw the photograph on Facebook). Bless his heart. He absolutely loved this cake, and all of the chocolate-lovers, men, etc. in your life are bound to as well! As a plus, eat the cake and watch the movie, Grown-ups, that inspired this cake!

Chocolate Wasted Cake
adapted from The Art of Dessert
serves 8-12

Cake (This is the recipe for the original cake that fell due to my mistakes. Feel free to use it or box mix)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 4 tsp. honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• liqueur for drizzling on the cake layers (i.e. chocolate, coffee or almond, I used Kahlua)

Frosting:

• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/3-1/2 cup whole milk (start out with 1/3 cup of milk and add more milk to your desired consistency)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate for drizzling:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2-3 Tbs. heavy cream or vegetable oil

For the top of cake:

• Assorted chocolate candies (I used Kit-Kats and chocolate chips, but feel free to experiment)

To make the cake:

• Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Grease and dust two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans with cocoa powder. Set aside.
• Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, honey and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the milk/butter mixture. Mix until combined.  Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Pour in the batter into prepared cake pans.
• Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and wait for about 10 minutes to remove from cake pans and place on a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Frosting:

• In a large mixing bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add the butter, milk and vanilla extract. Using an electric mixer, slowly mix together at a low speed. Once all the ingredients are combined, increase the speed and beat till fluffy.

 Chocolate Drizzle:

• Melt the chocolate and cream (or oil) on top of a double boiler (or in the microwave), until melted. I poured my melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle and squeezed lines all over the top of the cake. These containers are around $2.00 for two and are SUPER convenient!

To assemble the cake:

•  Place the first cake layer on a plate or cake circle. Poke holes in cake with toothpick, fork, etc. Lightly drizzle with liqueur. Spread an even layer of frosting. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Lightly drizzle with liqueur. 
• Cover the sides and top of the cake with frosting. Cover the sides of the cake with semi-sweet chocolate chips and cover the top with assorted chocolate candies.
•  Drizzle the melted chocolate all over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides of the cake.