A cake for Little Miss Thang...

I have a client who's hair I do nearly every 8 weeks, and she is precious to me.  I want to call her; I want to invite her out to coffee; I want to sit and glean from her deep well of knowledge and wisdom.  All I know is that when she is in my chair, she speaks and all sorts of- well, it is similar to this...

She speaks, and I see- in ways that I have never seen before.  I did her hair last week, and she beautifully affirmed a concept or philosophy I had hidden in my innards (ha.  "innards").  

Gibberish.  Gibberish.  Gibberish.  Right?

I will do my very best to post every recipe I show here, with the goal being that I want to inspire all of you to be creative and get in the kitchen.  I do realize, however, that some of you (locally) would simply rather not bother, and like for others to do the baking for you.  So, I will.  

$35 for a 9" round 

$20 for a 6" round

$1.50 per unfilled cupcake

$1.75 per filled cupcake

The prices will stick around until I am overwhelmed, and then they will go up.  Call, email, Facebook, comment here, hire a sky-writer, whatever.  

I need two days notice.  At least.

So, this is one such cake, commissioned for my little friend's birthday.  She wanted a chocolate cake, and for the life of me, I could not figure out how to make a chocolate cake look cute enough for a seven year old, save (gulp) a piping bag and (double gulp) fondant.  I have played with a piping bag before, but writing?  My handwriting is reminiscent of serial killers rather than little girls, and with a two year old at my feet giving the occasional bump- my results were less than stellar.  

Much less.  My swirls were great, dots were good, but words?  Well, see for yourself.  

Lumpy, bumpy...eesh.  But overall, a pretty gorgeous cake.  

And yes, that is a Campbell's chicken noodle soup can.  There are actually three of them under there.  I tried to move the cake to a proper stand for the picture, but given my history, I thought it was better photo'd here.  

I will give you all a little tutorial for those fondant flowers.  Not too bad for my first go!

A recipe or two?  Enjoy!

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

I have used her frosting recipe, but it sort of tastes like straight up butter to me.  So I use this one...

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

8 oz. of semi sweet chocolate (I recommend 60% cocoa.  Anything darker is too grown up for a kid's cake)

1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup cocoa

3/4 cup whole milk

pinch of salt

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Finely chop the chocolate, and add it along with the following 4 ingredients to a heatproof bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water.  Stir until melted and smooth, and remove from water.  After SIFTING the powdered sugar (you will regret not sifting), incorporate it into the chocolate mixture.  Let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes, and then stir in the vanilla (never stir vanilla into a hot mixture).  Place it into the fridge until it firms, or if you are in a hurry, put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.  

Note: this frosting can be very, very, very thick.  A metal spatula or knife and some hot water is a must for spreading this stuff.  Or else, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  

Trust me.

Alright, friends.  Have a beautiful day!

Rachel Bee