Kevin and Susan's Joint Birthday Cake!

Oh, how I wish I had my pastry bags...

In honor of the days-of-birth of my super Canadian roommate and my friend Kevin, I decided to make a cake. And yes, I'm aware that this cake is pink. To Kevin, I apologize, but it tastes delicious so I'm pretty sure he didn't mind much. Anyway, a very, very happy birthday to two of my good friends down here!

The birfday boy and girl, respectively.

A short sidenote: I leave DC in 6 days, and all the friends that I have made here will be scattered across the continent. I want to thank you all for making this summer amazing. I will honestly miss you. All of you. Even the ones I complain about. Really. Truf.

So, this cake is the very first undertaking of a significantly difficult recipe since being in DC, mostly because I was getting sick of making cookies. It involved buying several kitchen utensils to add to my arsenal back home, and making up a significant part of this recipe. For being a brand new recipe, mostly made-up using techniques from other recipes I've tried in the past, this cake turned out FABULOUSLY. I felt almost like a real pastry chef... hahahaha... right. I definitely lamented not having my pastry bags and decorating tips down here with me though... The finished product was pretty, no doubt, but being the perfectionist I am, I wish I hadn't just had to use ziplocs. Sigh.

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Cream Frosting and Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

(For cake)

• 1 c sugar
• 3/4 c flour
• 1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c fresh-brewed coffee
• 1/2 c whole milk
• 1/3 c vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla

(For frosting)

• 6 oz fresh raspberries
• 2 tbsp light brown suga
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• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 c whipping cream
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

(For chocolate sauce)

• 1/4 c whipping cream
• 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 4.5 in x 8.5 in loaf pan with nonstick spray and dust with cocoa powder.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the first 6 ingredients for the cake. In another bowl, combine coffee, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla, and beat to blend. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ones, and stir until just combined. Pour into floured pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then invert onto cake tray and cool completely before frosting.
3. In a small saucepan, mash together brown sugar, raspberries, and lemon juice. Cook on low heat, stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and push raspberry mixture through a sieve to remove seeds (what is left should be raspberry juice, basically). Add cornstarch to the juice, and cook on medium heat in saucepan for 5-7 minutes. Remove and refrigerate until very chilled.
4. In a refrigerated bowl, combine whipping cream for frosting, powdered sugar, and about 1/3 of the raspberry sauce. Whip until stiffer than you would want whipped cream to be. Fold in another 1/3 of the raspberry sauce.
5. In a double boiler, combine the whipping cream for chocolate sauce and chocolate chips until melted. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, and then spoon into a pastry bag.
6. Okay, now it's time to assemble the cake! Frost the completely cooled cake with the raspberry cream frosting, and chill for 10 minutes more. Drizzle with the chocolate sauce and the rest of the raspberry sauce. Chill until ready to serve.

I put the 'mess' in 'domestic'.