Cake Transformed

Last week I made a four-layer chocolate cake with chocolate pudding filling and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup topping. Yeah, decadent. And awesome. Check it out…

chocolate cake pudding dessert reese's peanut butter cup layers

But then this happened…

chocolate cake pudding dessert reese's peanut butter cup layers mess

Yes, the top layer totally just slid off. See, I’m not all pretty pictures on this blog…you get to see my mistakes too. Usually something like this would get me so frustrated, but this time I just sat on my kitchen floor laughing. I really don’t know for all long I was there. I just couldn’t stop laughing. There’s really nothing else I could have done. Just pure cake comedy.

But once I collected myself, I was able to put it back together just a bit…

chocolate cake pudding dessert reese's peanut butter cup layers gold

And before it could fall again, I completely deconstructed it and turned the cake into a giant parfait. See, if something goes wrong with your cake, don’t fret. Just cube the cake, mix with the pudding, and layer with whipped cream. It still tastes just as great and decadent. And look how inventive you are!

chocolate cake pudding dessert reese's peanut butter cup layers parfait whipped cream

Oh, I also made a few matching cupcakes with leftover cake batter. Oh so cute!

chocolate cake pudding dessert reese's peanut butter cup layers cupcake whipped cream

So the point of this post? I had high hopes for how this cake would turn out and how it would photograph. And well, in that respect, it failed miserably. But I had a ton of fun. And really, that’s what it’s all about.

In the past few months I’ve had the chance (yes, lucky me!) to spend some quality time alone. It’s not always easy. It can be lonely. But I’ve come to enjoy it and embrace hanging out with my super fun self. This cake fiasco was one of those moments. When I was sitting in my kitchen laughing hysterically at this over-turned, ridiculous, over-the-top cake, I was truly having fun. And that’s a discovery worth celebrating with some chocolate pudding cake/parfait/cupcake.

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Neutral

I wish I could write more. I really do. But I’ve been having a pretty hectic and emotional week. I want to write and write and write. And I will, eventually. But for tonight I’m going to remain neutral. And I’ll do so by sharing some fabulous gray cakes. Gray is a special color….it’s muted and quiet but it still makes a statement. That’s kind of how I feel right now.

Check out some of these beauties…

gray chevron cakegray lace cake weddinggray sparkle cake wedding flower detailgray metallic cake silver wedding flower
gray monogram cake wedding

{Image thanks to: Sweet and Saucy Shop, Style Me Pretty, Yummy Cupcakes, Ritzy Bee}

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Nothing is perfect

flourless chocolate cake imperfect messy cream cheese swirl

It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.

You know that phrase. You’ve probably heard it way too many times.

I’ve been bad though. I’ve forgotten about it over and over. I’ve been so focused on destinations recently. What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? I’ve had this compulsive urge to figure it out. And figure it out quickly.

But nothing is perfect. And I can’t know exactly where life with take me. As a compulsive planner this is very difficult for me grasp.

Trying to remember this while planning/not planning my life of course stresses me out. And so of course that makes me want to get in the kitchen and bake something delicious and comforting. Ah. My need to control things. Ah. It all makes sense now.

Anyway…late one night last week I had this urge to bake something warm and gooey and chocolatey. I was running low on flour but I had a block of cream cheese I wanted to use so I found a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake with a cream cheese swirl.

It didn’t all go as planned though. I didn’t have semi-sweet chocolate, just milk chocolate chips. I think I put way too much espresso in the mix. And the whole thing stuck to the bottom of the pan, so I had to rip out chunks of it piece by piece.

It wasn’t the perfect chocolate cake I wanted. It didn’t look pretty. It didn’t photograph the way I invisioned. But it was really good. It was really good right out of the oven when I couldn’t wait for it to cool. It was really good the next day when I brought the entire plate of cake into bed with me. And I think it will continue to satisfy when I dig into the pieces I wrapped up and put in the freezer so I can keep it just a little bit longer.

Not everything in my life can be picture perfect. I don’t always know how things will turn out. I can mess something up and it can still turn out great. Nikki: remember this about everything else in your life.

flourless chocolate cake imperfect messy cream cheese swirl

Just a little life lesson learned in the kitchen and with chocolate stuck all over my fingers. (The best kind, I think.)

Recipe (kind of) from here.

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First Mixer Cake

So remember when I bought a KitchenAid stand mixer and I was so nervous about using it? After spending a few days just staring at it at the end of my kitchen, I took the plunge. I was waiting to find something that would inspire me. I thought about baking something elaborate, something flashy. I kept thinking about this gorgeous sparkly pink cake. But I didn’t have the right size pan I wanted and I didn’t have the decorations. It was all just getting too complicated.

Just make a damn cake Nikki. So I went in the opposite direction. Instead of something flashy, for my first mixer cake, I decided to make something comforting. Something that symbolized why I bought this mixer…to make delicious food that is meaningful for the people in my life. And for me that comfort came in the form of buttery vanilla yellow cake layers surrounded by creamy chocolate frosting. Classic. Comforting. Perfection. This cake makes my belly smile.

About to turn it on for the first time!

For the recipes I turned to two other classics…Martha and the Smitten Kitchen. I loved both the yellow cake and the fudge frosting (especially on the second and third days eating it!)

 

No more fearing the mixer! I’m ready to bake more and more with it. Maybe even something flashy too. What’s next? You’ll have to check back for that!

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