bragging rights

Sometimes a proud mom just has to brag about her children. Today is one of those days, so please bare with me. The picture below is from Connor’s 18th birthday (he is now 19  1/2 years old) and he had just blown out the candles from his favorite kind of cake, which would best be called “chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!” I am posting this picture and the recipe for the cake, not because we celebrate half birthdays around here,  but because I want to tell you how proud I am of my son.

Connor will have a weekly comic strip in The Lumberjack, Northern Arizona University’s newspaper! So very cool! His older sister, Marissa, who recently graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Arizona, wrote for her newspaper, The Wildcat, and now Connor will be published too. Marissa is equally proud of her “little” brother, as you can see by yesterday’s post on her blog, as seen HERE.  Yes, she beat me to it, and that kinda makes me doubly proud of both of them. xoxo

Connor’s Killer Overdose Chocolate Cake

Cake
3/4 cup (1  1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 eggs
3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1  1/2 cups flour
1  1/2 cups chocolate chips

Frosting
1  1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1 cup heavy cream
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1  1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream

Cake: Preheat the oven to 35o degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper, and grease paper.

Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave and stir in the chocolate, and continue stirring until completely melted. Cool to lukewarm.

In a large bowl whisk together for 1 minute; the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Whisk in the butter-chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. (Do not overbake, toothpick or cake tester should not come out clean) Cool on racks and remove from pans as soon as they are cool enough to handle.

Frosting: Combine the sugar, coffee, and cream in a small, deep, heavy saucepan. Stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6 minutes without stirring. Remove from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted and blended throughout. Add the butter and vanilla. Whisk thoroughly. Chill until the mixture begins to thicken.

Assembly: Put one cake layer, bottom-side-up, on a cake plate. Spread with 1/3 of the frosting.  Top with the second layer, also bottom-side-up.  Pour all but 1/2 cup of the remaining frosting on top of the cake, spreading it over the top and then the sides. Place the reserved 1/2 cup frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip and pipe rosettes around the top of the cake.*  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Serves 10 to 12
*(the cake picture is sans rosettes at the birthday boy’s request)