Birthday Special: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake with Buttercream Frosting!

Birthday Special: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake with Buttercream Frosting! 

Hi dessert lovers, I am back after having a superb vacation back home, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Now that I have joined Grad school from this Fall, I don't get time for baking like I used to get before. But I always look for a chance to bake! Yesterday it was one of our senior brothers' birthday here in Purdue, and on behalf of us (my fellow Purdue mates), I decided to bake him a birthday cake. I got to know about his birthday in the late afternoon, so didn't have much time in hand (bare me for my amateur frosting skills over this one), and as he is the lead guitarist for our local Purdue band here (The only Bangladeshi Band we have), I tried to make a small guitar out of the cake (Had no time to experiment with fondant)! I was very happy to see everyone's reaction to that guitar and on top of it, along the Birthday boy, when all of my friends said, it tasted divine, what more can I ask for? Here is the recipe for the cake and also for the frosting. Let me know if you have any feedback or improvisation ideas! 

Ingredients: 

For cake:

1. 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2. 1 cup cocoa powder
3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 2 cup milk (I prefer buttermilk)
6. 1 stick unsalted butter (if you are using salted stick, omit any additional salt from the recipe)
7. 1/3 cup oil (if using butter, omit oil)- I have used oil for this recipe.
8. 3 large Eggs
9. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10. 3 mixes of chocolate chips/chunks (I used milk, semi-sweet and dark)- 1/3 cup of each
11. nuts of your choice, I used walnut (optional)

***The cake pops (round cheesecake truffles are store bought as I didn't have enough time. But they can be made at home. For recipe, please google: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-truffles-recipe.html ***

Process:

1. Preheat the oven at 350 degree.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients first, mix with a fork, Now add oil and one egg at a time. Beat at a medium speed. Do not over beat it.

3. Now brush the 9'' cake pan with a bit of butter. Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes. (Depending on the oven).

4. After the cake is being baked, rest it for frosting. You can even cut it into halves and spread your choice of frosting. After spreading the frost, close the cake lid and rest it sometime before you frost the whole cake. "Always frost a cooled cake", preferable at the room temperature.

Note: 1. If you want a cake without frosting, please add 1.5 cups of sugar (approx. adjust to your taste), to the cake mix. If you are using any kind of frosting, please avoid this note.

           2. Always set a timer when you are baking a cake in the oven. It really helps!

Buttercream Frosting: 

Ingredients: 

1. 1/2 stick butter (softened)
2. 4 cup of confectioners sugar (For BD, you might want to blend your sugar until it forms like powder)
3. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4. 4-5 tablespoon milk (low-fat preferably)

Process: First beat butter until it's creamy.  Add sugar, essence and milk and beat until you get your choice of consistency. That was easy, isn't it? Well, not for your hand though.. haha!

It will yield 2-3 cups of frosting.

Tired of regular frosting?

Add orea (crushed) or any kind of nuts (almond, pista etc), you can add a bit of lime juice to bring a tangy flavor. Don't worry, keep playing with the flavors! That's the fun and freedom to bake, ain't it?

Happy baking!