Between the chaos of work trips, half-packed suitcases and endless hours of convention center banter, there was cake. Delicious, unapologetically rich, lavishly frosted cake.

Um, two cakes, actually.

 

One, a sunny moist vanilla, adorned with a fudge frosting that packs a one-two punch of serious dark chocolate and just enough sugar to lend a hint of old-fashioned country fair fudge grit.

 

 

The other, a dense chocolate number, enhanced by the complex flavors of fresh brewed coffee and honey, contrasted with a light, airy milk chocolate buttercream frosting.

 

 

Yeah, I had a few things going on last week.

 

 

Much to my delight, the East Village Kitchen temporarily became a cake factory (with the occasional cookie thrown in for good measure), as I counted my baking days backwards in anticipation of a very important celebration.

 

 

After all, you only turn two once, and if you are lucky enough to be as loved as this particular just-barely two year old, you get a plane –full of awesome relatives, a lavish backyard party, and two semi-assembled cakes delivered to your door from New York via Zipcar.

 

 

Overkill? Not at all. That’s just how my friends Mike and Jolene roll. Their entire family was thrilled to be celebrating their son Ashton’s birthday – his first with them all together as a family.

 

 

Back in the early planning stages, I offered pastry for the party and was psyched when Jolene took me up on the offer. A few weeks ago, we began some serious cake consultations via email.

 

 

Jolene pumped Ashton with my questions, and all queries were answered with “chocolate”, “horsies”, and again “chocolate”.

 

 

No need to twist this arm, kid.

 

 

Next there were the logistical considerations of making a cake that feeds 30-40 people. I fretted about getting it out of my apartment, and then out of the city , and into Jolene’s kitchen in one piece. I’m nothing, if not a klutz, and I’ve grown very fond of transporting cakes safely in my beautiful and bomb-proof cake carrying case, which is just too small for a cake that large.

 

 

I am also limited by the layout of my freezer, which is one of those modern jobbies,  full of frost-proof drawers, and simply cannot accommodate large, delicate layers.

 

 

Given these limitations, I felt very comfortable with two 8 inch, triple layer, round cakes, which, coincidentally, are the exact size that work perfectly for Alisa Huntsman’s recipes from her book Sky High Cakes.

 

 

Besides, in my mind, that the only thing better than one kind of chocolate horsey cake is two types of chocolate horsey cake. And for a 2 year old’s birthday, no less.

 

 

A few days before the party, I made the layers and stowed them safely in the freezer, wrapped tightly in multiple layers of plastic wrap. On the morning of, I prepared the frostings – one from a too-simple-to-be-true recipe for the deeply satisfying  instant fudge frosting, and the other, my spin on the white chocolate buttercream frosting that I used for the black and white park avenue cake, involving semi-sweet chocolate.

 

 

 

Having conquered my first buttercream, I proceeded to tackle this one with absolutely zero hesitation, because buttercream can smell fear. It came out perfectly!

 

 

After removing the layers from the freezer, they were nice and hard, perfect for shaving off some of the rough edges and the tops to make everything look uniform. I applied the fillings and base layers in my kitchen, using the instant fudge frosting between the layers of both cakes and applying super-thin outer coats of the instant fudge frosting to the vanilla cake and the buttercream for the chocolate one. I finished the job in Jolene’s kitchen, once we got there.

 

 

Ashton had helped Jolene choose a selection of horsies and other barnyard creatures to decorate his cakes, and I accented them with a bit of the buttercream (pre chocolate) colored green. They looked so precious!

 

 

The cakes were well-received, with compliments all around from Jolene and Mike’s friends and family (who were so freaking nice and fun to be around, I’m pretty sure that even if they hated the cakes they would have made me feel good about them anyway). The ultimate stamp of approval came from the birthday boy himself, who surprised us all by picking up the entire slice of cake and devouring it before our eyes.

 

 

And after watching him do it, I’m sort of jealous because I’m an adult and therefore bound by etiquette to use a fork, even when cake is really really good.

 

 

Chocolate honey cake with chocolate buttercream frosting
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ cup strongly brewed coffee

1 and ¾ cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter

½ cup dark honey (preferably chestnut or buckwheat)

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

2/3 cup buttermilk

Chocolate buttercream frosting

 

Makes an 8 inch triple layer cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8 inch round cake pans. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Line bottoms with parchment and lightly grease.

Combine the chocolate with ½ cup of the sugar and the coffee in a heatproof glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until the chocolate is soft when stirred, then stir to blend well.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set dry ingredients aside.

With an electric mixer, cream together butter and reamaining ¾ cup sugar. On medium-high speed, beat in the honey, then the eggs, one at a time, and then finally the vanilla and almond extracts.  On low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Finally, beat in the melted chocolate. Pour a third f the batter into each baking pan. Tap the pans gently on the counter to settle any air bubbles.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick comes out clean for each layer. The cake should be just pulling away from the sides of the pan and the center should be springy when touched lightly. Let the cake layers cool for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks and remove the parchment. Allow them to cool completely, at least one hour. (I recommend baking in advance,  then wrap in a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze. This will allow you to shape the layers if needed and will make frosting the cake a snap).

To assemble, put one layer on the serving plate, flat side up. Cover with a thin layer of chocolate frosting. Add a second layer and cover with an identical layer of chocolate frosting. Top with the third layer.

Finally, cover the sides and edges of the cake with the chocolate buttercream, frosting, smoothing until the desired look is achieved.

Chocolate buttercream frosting

3 egg whites

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (high quality)

1 cup sugar

¼ cup water

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1. Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and set the mixer up for use. melt the white chocolate anbout halfway in a double broiler over simmering water. Remove from the heat, stir until smooth, and set aside to cool.

2. Combine the sugar and water in a small, heavy saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

3. Immediately start beating the egg whites on medium-low speed. Slowly add the syrup in a thin stream, taking care not to hit the beaters.Continue to whip until the mixture is body temperature and a stiff meringue has formed.

4. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time. When all of the butter is incorporated, beat on medium speed until the frosting appears to curdle. Continue to whip, and suddenly it will come together. At this point, add the melted white chocolate and mix well.

Vanilla buttermilk cake with instant fudge frosting
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne 

4 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

3 cups cake flour

2 cups sugar

4 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temp.

Instant fudge frosting

Makes an 8 inch triple layer cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of the three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the pans with a round of parchment and grease the parchment.

Put the yolks and eggs in a medium mixing bowl, add the vanilla and ¼ cup of buttermilk. Whisk to blend well.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl; whisk to blend. Add the butter and the remaining buttermilk to these dry ingredients and with the mixer on low, blend together. Raise the mixer speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing only until thoroughly incorporated. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

Bake the cake layers for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick comes out clean for each layer. The cake should be just pulling away from the sides of the pan and the center should be springy when touched lightly. Let the cake layers cool for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks and remove the parchment. Allow them to cool completely, at least one hour. (I recommend baking in advance, then wrap in a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze. This will allow you to shape the layers if needed and will make frosting the cake a snap).

To assemble, put one layer on the serving plate, flat side up. Spread ¾ cup of the instant fudge frosting over the layer right to the edge. (Warning: the instructions dictate the use of too much frosting, in my opinion. I used less on this cake and had enough left over to use between the layers of another whole cake. Use your own discretion – I have included the book instructions as a guide)Repeat with the second layer.  Place the last layer on top and use all but ¾ of a cup of the frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. With and offset palette knife or spatula, smooth out the frosting all over. Place the remaining frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a medium star attachment (or any other that strikes your fancy) and pipe a design around the border of the cake.

Instant fudge frosting

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

4 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.

6 tablespoons half and half

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

 

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor (use a large one!) and pulse to incorporate. Then process until the frosting is smooth and uniform. That’s it!