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Posts Tagged ‘chocolate’

  1. Week 22: Thunder Cake

    June 30, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

    I’ve got to admit, this cake didn’t taste great, but it sure does look pretty. This cake was the second of two I baked with my friend, Joe. For the first, see: Week 21: Gooey Butter Cake. (more…)

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,,,, | 4 Comments

  2. Week 18: Chocolate Blackout Cake

    June 2, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

    This cake looks six stories tall. It was. And I’m so proud of how straight I got the sides. Earlier this year, I had scoped out cake recipes for my mom. She had requested a chocolate cake that incorporated coffee with a homemade chocolate buttercream. And Ina Garten had just the recipe, Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. There is even a handy dandy video. (more…)

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,, | 3 Comments

  3. Week 15: Flourless Chocolate Cake

    May 3, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

    I feel a little sad writing this post because I baked this cake over two weeks ago and now I have to look at photos and remember how fabulous it tasted and how I don’t have any left to savor. Alas, this post needs to be written so I can get back in the kitchen! (more…)

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,,, | 4 Comments

  4. Week 13: Yellow Espresso Amaretto Cake

    April 11, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

    Is this not the most beautiful cake you’ve ever seen? This is the cake I produced in my cake decorating class. The recipe claimed to be yellow cake, but it tasted more like a white cake and angel food cake hybrid. “What makes a yellow cake yellow?” you ask. Egg yolks! (more…)

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 2 Comments

  5. Week 9: Turtle Cake

    March 11, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

    Before I  baked a Turtle Cake, I was curious as to how the term “Turtle” came to be associated with chocolaty, nutty, caramel goodness. According to the DeMet’s website, “TURTLES® are chocolate confections that are shaped like Turtles. They consist of milk chocolate, caramel and some variety of nuts.” And according to the Wikipedia page: (more…)

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,,, | 2 Comments

  6. Week 4: Dr. Devil’s Food Cake

    January 29, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

    Have you heard of diet soda cakes? Well, now you have. The idea is simple. You select a cake box mix and instead of adding oil, eggs, and water, you simply add a can of diet soda. “But how is that possible?” you ask. Well, I’m not entirely sure. But it works! I read somewhere that when boxed cake mixes first hit grocery store shelves, they simply required that you add water and bake. They didn’t sell well. Customer research revealed home bakers felt that the process was too easy. So the cake box people adjusted the mix and directions to require eggs, oil, and water. But I suppose there’s still some sort of loophole in which you don’t have to add so much fat to cake mix to make it work. (more…)

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,,,,, | 2 Comments

  7. Week 1: Chocolate Bacon Cake with Almond Buttercream

    January 5, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

    My first cake of 2012 was my birthday cake, which was an exciting way to launch the project, but also carried with it some pressure. I started thinking about it over a month ago and even created a pin board on Pinterest for it. I had a lot of grand plans, which at one point included fondant snowflakes. But when it came down to it, I just wanted a great tasting cake that looked decent. I have a year to work on my decorating skills, but flavors are easier to master.

    I decided on chocolate bacon, which a lot of people I initially told seemed horrified by. I’m not sure why. Bacon’s really having a moment right now. It being one of my favorite foods, why not throw it into the batter of the cake? My original plan for the frosting was to make maple buttercream. I thought it would complement the flavor of the bacon and chocolate nicely. But I didn’t plan far enough in advance and couldn’t find maple extract in time. After the third store I visited, I settled on almond buttercream. So that was the thought process behind it all.

    Let’s make this cake! At the end of this insanely long post you’ll find the printable recipe and directions.

    (more…)

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,,,,, | 9 Comments

  8. Week 1: A Sneak Peek

    January 1, 2012 by Nina Spezzaferro

     

    And so it begins. I just put the finishing touches on my first week’s cake, which is also coincidentally my birthday cake. There she is, chillin’ in the fridge, just waiting to be devoured tomorrow afternoon. I chose chocolate bacon with almond buttercream. If the batter, cake crumbs, and frosting licks are any indication, this cake is going to be out of this world.

    Check back later on this week for the full recipe and how-to.

    Category 52 Cakes | Tags: ,,,, | 2 Comments

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