Finally. A Cake.

I sometimes complain about how I never get to bake cakes. Now is one of those times.

I always love the process of baking and decorating cakes, but it gets dangerous to have a gazillion of them laying around the house as you can imagine. And for the record, usually even when I think I'm going to get to bake a cake, it doesn't happen. You know why? Because anytime anyone's birthday rolls around, they don't want cake, they want pie or something stupid. It's a birthday people. Birthday = Cake. Get with the program.

Anyway. I informed Jesse that when it came time for her going away party, I was making cake. The end. She tried in one mere attempt to veer me away to something less cake-y, but I stood my cake-y ground and won. Score Ellie: 1 Pie: 0

In the end I decided to go for a chocolate coconut cake. Now, I've never made this before, but usually when I think something will work in my head, it does, so I decided to go for it.
When I make chocolate cake I pretty much always stick with the same recipe. The one on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box. It's the shit, people. Just roll with it. Oh - and my chocolate frosting recipe? You guessed it, also on the back of the Hershey's box. De-freaking-licious.

For the filling I decided to take my standard pastry cream recipe and make it coconutty. For me that just meant substituting most of the milk for unsweetened coconut milk. I also toasted up the coconut and added that to the cooled cream. When it was finished I decided it a little too sweet and puddingy for my liking, so I whipped up some cream and folded that in. Much better.

I cut the cake in half, added the filling, and proceeded to frost with that yummy chocolate frosting. I toasted up some more coconut and put that one the sides and top. Then finally, I piped some frosting around the edge to give it a more finished look. I think it looked pretty pretty.

All in all, good times. It tasted super yummy, the coconut wasn't too overpowering and obviously who doesn't like chocolate. No one, that's right.


Anywho ..I love cake! And you should too. Nyam nyam nyam.


-E

p.s. Isn't it beautiful? I'm SO proud. :)