This Showstopping Chocolate Stout Cake with Candied Pecans is sure to impress and please the chocolate lover. I made it for my hubby's birthday when he celebrated a milestone 50 years, a very deserving occasion to try my hand at a two-tiered cake.

With a milestone birthday ahead, I wanted a flavour, nay, a bouquet of flavours that were decadent, delectable, and possibly downright avant-garde. And what else could be more exotic than the combination of rose, saffron, and cardamom? A trinity of fragrant spices that suggest romance and adventure. And that is how this Persian themed cake came to be. Starting with this beautiful pistachio rose cake!

Adapted from a tea-cake recipe by Ottolenghi, I added my customizations and adjusted the quantities to make a three-layered cake. A tinge of lemon in the cake, syrup, and buttercream helps balance out the sweet rose tones and brighten things up a bit. I also brought in my favorite Italian meringue buttercream and added just a touch of rose and lemon to marry the flavor and round out the taste.

This Pistachio Rose Cake was the first of three cakes I would make for my 50th birthday cake. The top tier of the cake is a four-layer Saffron and Cardamom Cake, the middle tier being a two-layer Saffron and Honey Cake and the bottom tier is this Pistachio and Rose Cake. It is indeed a lovely celebratory cake that both challenge my creativity, as well as remind me of how far I have come as a baker and flavor maker :D


With a milestone birthday ahead, I wanted a flavour, nay, a bouquet of flavours that were decadent, delectable, and possibly downright avant-garde. And what else could be more exotic than the combination of rose, saffron, and cardamom? A trinity of fragrant spices that suggest romance and adventure. And that is how this Persian themed cake came to be. Starting with this beautiful pistachio rose cake!

Adapted from a tea-cake recipe by Ottolenghi, I added my customizations and adjusted the quantities to make a three-layered cake. A tinge of lemon in the cake, syrup, and buttercream helps balance out the sweet rose tones and brighten things up a bit. I also brought in my favorite Italian meringue buttercream and added just a touch of rose and lemon to marry the flavor and round out the taste.

This Pistachio Rose Cake was the first of three cakes I would make for my 50th birthday cake. The top tier of the cake is a four-layer Saffron and Cardamom Cake, the middle tier being a two-layer Saffron and Honey Cake and the bottom tier is this Pistachio and Rose Cake. It is indeed a lovely celebratory cake that both challenge my creativity, as well as remind me of how far I have come as a baker and flavor maker :D

Ingredients:

Directions:

Thank goodness rum is vegan! LOL!

It's birthday month again! And though it took me about a whole month to come to a mutually satisfying decision on what to bake, it was so worth it. With every passing year it gets a bit more tricky. Because I don't want to make the same cake again ... if I can help it, because it has to please the birthday boy/girl, and because all four cakes need to be not only different, but complement each other in flavour.


This one screams Monique all over ... it's vegan, it's got cookie butter, and did I mention rum? Yes, that's where all the rum's gone. In the interest of full disclosure, all our cakes are boozed up. Some more than others, but all really 'spirited'. We came back from CDMX with a nice bottle of Bacardi Ocho and probably 'spilled' a little more than needed of the recipe :D and it was so so good!

The cinnamon and ginger notes made this a warming and hearty cake, ideal for fall. It went perfectly alongside our other cakes that evening. Because we're so extra, we made our own cookie butter, something whipped up at a moment's notice in absence of speculaas spread.



The decor was kept very simple with kruidnoten, ginger spiced 'buttons' on the side and speculaas crumbs on top.

Ingredients:

A) Bacardi Cake Syrup
240 ml (1 cup) water
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
30 ml (1/8 cup) Bacardi Ocho rum

B) Vegan Cookie Butter Cake
540 ml (2-1/4 cups) almond milk, at room temperature
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
330 g (2-3/4 cups) all purpose flour
30 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
300 g (1-1/2 cups) granulated sugar
160 ml (2/3 cup) grapeseed oil (or any other vegetable oil)
80 ml (1/3 cup) Speculoos cookie butter
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Bacardi Ocho rum

C) Bacardi Buttercream
450 g (1 lb) icing sugar, sifted
50 g (3 tbsp) vegan butter (Becel or Alpro)
3 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp Bacardi Ocho

Directions:

A) Bacardi Cake Syrup
1. In a small saucepan, place the water and sugar.
2. Bring to a boil, then set aside to cool.
3. When cooled, stir in the Bacardi Ocho rum.

B) Vegan Cookie Butter Cake
1. Butter and flour the sides of 3 20-cm (8-inch) round cake tins, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.
3. In a medium non-reactive bowl, combine the almond milk and the apple cider vinegar. Set aside to curdle.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, cookie butter, vanilla extract, and rum until homogenous and resembles a paste.
6. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, folding until just combined.
7. Divide the batter into the 3 prepared tins and bake for 22 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
8. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack.
9. When cooled, level the tops with a serrated knife or a cake leveler.
10. Brush with Bacardi cake syrup.

C) Bacardi Buttercream

Ever since I was gifted a package of Cotswold's Lavender, I've been waiting for an opportunity to bake with them. And I've always wanted to make a cake! I can only imagine the delicate aroma infused in a light vanilla cake, much like a Victorian sponge, a blissful floral note, a bit on the girly side (then again, why not?) evoking memories of a distant Provençal summer. It would be glorious.



I pitched this idea to the kids, and every time it is Max who gives me the carte blanche. I couldn't be more relieved. It wasn't just simply making all these cakes, it was also making sure that the flavours, the colours, and even the textures, were unique enough so each one would be appreciated for its virtues.



A lavender cake would be lovely, but it was the pairing with St. Germain, an elderflower liqueur that would heighten its appeal and complement its taste. Lavender, on its own, may be singularly used for a cookie, a loaf, or even a cupcake. It has the capacity to shine in a bite sized delight. However, a slice of cake is like a dish in itself. It has to have varying textures, flavours that augment each other, and colours that complement or contrast. And with this cake, I am convinced that lavender and elderflower do make a magnificent Victorian match.



There are various components that make this cake special. Because the individual flavours are subtle, I found that layering them in an infused milk, the cake itself and the syrup that soaks the cake all contribute to making the whole so much greater than the sum of its parts. It's a bit laborious and I did it over a few days. Cake for celebrations call for that, after all it is a labour of love.

Ingredients:

A) Lavender Milk:
480 ml (2 cups) milk
2 tbsp lavender buds


B) Lavender Elderflower Syrup:
240 ml (1 cup) water
2 tbsp lavender buds
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) St. Germain elderflower liqueur


C) Lavender Elderflower Cake:
405 g (3-1/3 cups) all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp lavender buds, ground
1 tsp salt
255 g (1-1/8 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
400 g (2 cups) granulated sugar
4 large eggs + 1 yolk, at room temperature
1 tbsp St. Germain elderflower liqueur
360 ml (1-1/2 cups) lavender milk


D) Elderflower Italian Meringue Buttercream:
425 g (2 cups + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
90 ml (3/8 cup) water
6 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
510 g unsalted butter, just slightly softened, cut into 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp St. Germain elderflower liqueur

Directions:

A) Lavender milk:
1. Combine the ingredients in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and steep for 5 minutes.
3. Strain and let cool completely before using. You will need only 360 ml (1-1/2 cups) for the cake.
The milk can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for a day.

B) Lavender Elderflower Syrup:
1. In a small saucepan, place the water, lavender, and sugar.
2. Bring to a boil, then set aside to cool.
3. When cooled, stir in the St. Germain elderflower liqueur.
The syrup can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

C) Lavender Elderflower Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F. Butter and flour the sides of 3 20-cm (8-inch) baking tins, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, ground lavender buds, and salt together. Set this aside.

Four cakes are going to be on a table this day, and you can be sure there will be one chocolate cake among them all. Right on! But in no way should I resign myself to the tried and true, the fail-safe, the fool-proof Devil's Food Cake, should I? Oh gosh, no! Life would be utterly boring. Even the best chocolate cakes would cause one's palates to become immune to its pleasures if it were to be served on one too many occasions. Hence the chocolate chocolate chunk coffee cake.

Tedious and tongue twisting the name may be, it does give a comprehensive description of the delight to follow. The cake is essentially a chocolate cake, we got that. Then there's chocolate chunk, mind you, not those over-processed chips that contain stuff we do not need, rather chunks dark (over 70%) good quality chocolate, good enough to gift, good enough to pair with wine. Yes, that good, the stuff that is about four or five times the price of generic chocolate. Trust me on this! It is a birthday cake, go ahead, you can splurge!



Then I included the word coffee, and not in the sense that it's an afternoon tea accompaniment, but actually using espresso powder and coffee stout in the cake. Why? Because coffee intensifies the chocolate flavour like no other. Then there's a secret ingredient! You can scroll down to the recipe to find it, but don't turn up your nose just yet! It's egg content and emulsifying properties lend so much richness to the cake and rounds it off nicely.



This recipe is adapted from Tasty's Ultimate Chocolate cake, and true to their word, it is an ultimate version of your home-made chocolate cake. I amped it up with Kahlua to bring out the coffee even more, made a cake syrup to intensify the chocolate flavour, then frosted it with my favorite buttercream - Italian meringue, chocolatized! Yes, it's now an official word. I just submitted it to Oxford English Dictionary. And yes, you can do that! I just did! :D



So then what does one call a cake that's more than Ultimate? Rather than calling it Supreme or Superlative Chocolate Cake, which could be just click-bait, how about Chocolate Chunk & Coffee Cake with Chocolate Buttercream? Now you're really salivating, aren't you? ;)

Ingredients:

A) Godiva liqueur cake syrup:
240 ml (1 cup) water
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
30 ml (1/8 cup) Godiva Chocolate liqueur

B) Chocolate Chunk Coffee Cake:
225 g (1-7/8 cups) all purpose flour
150 g (1-1/4 cups) Dutch cocoa powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
450 ml (1-7/8 cups) coffee stout
1-1/2 tbsp Kahlua coffee liqueur
1-1/2 tbsp espresso powder
285 g (1-1/4 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
375 g (1-7/8 cups) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
150 ml (5/8 cup) mayonnaise
170 g (6 oz.) dark chocolate (from a chocolate bar), chopped

C) Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream
425 g (2 cups + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
90 ml (3/8 cup) water
6 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
510 g unsalted butter, just slightly softened, cut into 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
60 g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder, sifted

Directions:

A) Godiva liqueur cake syrup:
1. In a small saucepan, place the water and sugar.
2. Bring to a boil, then set aside to cool.
3. When cooled, stir in the Godiva chocolate liqueur.

B) Chocolate Chunk Coffee Cake:
1. Butter and flour the sides of 3 20-cm (8-inch) round cake tins, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 160C or 325F.

3. Into a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the coffee stout, Kahlua, and espresso powder. Leave to rest. Before using, whisk again, then strain this mixture into another bowl.

What? It's my birthday and I have to make my own cake? Whhyyyy? Because I want to. Because it is the only time I get to do what I want to do without having to ask anyone if they would be okay with it. And because I can :D




I was also looking for another component to bring to the cake, something a little tart, something fruity, to balance the floral. I looked through my pantry and fridge and examined the options: lemon curd, passion fruit purée and the few preserves I had on hand. Hmmm? No obvious option here, so after baking the cake, I tasted a bit of it with each of them, offered it to willing family members, before finally settling on one that went so perfectly with the elderflower aromas. It was the raspberry preserves.



Since every cake is different, each has its own journey, its own trials and tribulations. I have come some ways from being happy just making a recipe I saw online (usually the best photos win my heart). Now I think about what flavour pairings, I go for differing textures, and I want to do something that pushes the envelope.



When you read a few of my posts, you will find that I say that a lot - push the envelope. With life, as cake, you wither when you rest on your laurels. You deteriorate when you don't learn anything new. And most tragically, you live the same life, the same meals and the same cakes over and over. And that is sad!



So ... a new cake it will be. Perfumed with sweet notes of elderflower, tinged with a bit of tang from raspberries, this cake turned out so lovely and aromatic, perfect for a summery-fruity-floraly-boozy kind of birthday. And you can be sure I had a glass of St. Germain and Prosecco to accompany me on this, er, shall we say, creative process ;)


Elderflower syrup
Ingredients:
240 ml (1 cup) water
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) St. Germain elderflower liqueur

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, place the water and sugar.
2. Bring to a boil, then set aside to cool. 
3. When cooled, stir in the St. Germain elderflower liqueur.


Elderflower Cake
Ingredients:
420 g (3-1/2 cups) all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
400 g (2 cups) granulated sugar
4 eggs + 1 yolk, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp St. Germain elderflower liqueur
240 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil
300 g (1-1/4 cup) buttermilk, at room temperature

Directions:
1. Butter and flour the sides of 4 20-cm (8-inch) round cake tins, and line the bottoms with parchment paper. 
2. Preheat the oven to 160C or 325F. 
3. Into a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, on medium high speed, beat the sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and elderflower liqueur about 10 minutes until fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. 
5. Drizzle in the oil, and continue beating for another 3-4 minutes. 
6. Reduce the speed to medium low, then alternate adding the flour (in 3 batches) and the buttermilk (in 2 batches). 
7. Give it a good mix with a spatula before dividing the batter between the 4 prepared tins. 
8. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes until a skewer pierced in the center of the cake comes out clean. 
9. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack. 
10. When cooled, level the tops with a serrated knife or a cake leveler. 
11. Brush with prepared cake syrup.


Raspberry Spread 
Ingredients:
240 ml (1 cup) raspberry preserves

Directions:
1. Place the raspberry preserve in a blender and blitz until super smooth. 


Elderflower Italian Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients:
425 g (2 cups + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
90 ml (3/8 cup) water
6 egg whites, at room temperature 
Pinch of cream of tartar 
510 g unsalted butter, just slightly softened, cut into 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) cubes 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 tsp St. Germain elderflower liqueur 

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, start heating the sugar and water. Have an infrared (or candy) thermometer ready. 
2. In a clean and dry bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, start whisking the egg whites on medium speed. 
3. As soon as the egg whites turn foamy, add the cream of tartar. Keep whisking the egg whites until you get to the soft peak stage. 
4. Keep an eye on the sugar syrup, as soon as it hits 112 - 115C or 235 - 240F, turn the heat off and VERY VERY CAREFULLY pour the syrup into the running mixing bowl, trickling it down the sides of the bowl. (You do not want to pour it into the whisking area because it will splatter and burn you!) 
5. Keep whisking until you get a voluminous white meringue. 
6. The bowl will get hot, at which point you want to cool it off with damp cold kitchen towels. You can stop whisking at this point long enough to place a larger bowl with ice and/or cold water under the mixing bowl to help it cool quicker. 
7. As soon as the meringue reads 39 - 40C or 102 - 104F, switch the whisk attachment with the beater attachment, then start beating on medium speed. 
8. Add the butter, a cube at a time, in about 5 second increments, the buttercream will start coming together after 2/3 of the butter is added. Continue adding the butter until depleted. 
9. Add the vanilla extract and Elderflower liqueur and beat for another minute. 

The buttercream will keep at room temperature, covered, for up to 2 days in maximum 25C weather. Otherwise you will need to refrigerate it. 

If your buttercream is curdling, or you see water is separating from the butter, the mixture is too cold. Warm the bowl by placing hot towels around the bowl. If your buttercream isn't coming together, or still watery, it may be too warm. Cool the mixing bowl by wrapping it in cold kitchen towels. Then continue beating until it comes together. 

Assembling

Now that we have our buttercream ready and at room temperature, and our cakes leveled and brushed with syrup, we can continue to assemble them. Make sure your cake board, turntable, offset spatulas, leveler, and a large cookie scooper is also on hand.

1. Check all the layers and choose the best one for the top of the cake. We are looking to place the bottom side up for the top-most layer. 
2. Place a small smear of buttercream on a cake board, then place a layer, bottom side down, centering it as best you can. 
3. Using a cookie scooper, scoop about 3/4 cup of buttercream on top of the layer, leveling it as evenly as possible. 
4. Spread a thin layer of raspberry preserve on one side of the next layer. 
5. Place this layer raspberry side down on the buttercream.
6. Continue layering all the cakes in this way. 
7. Crumb coat the whole cake, then refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to set and harden the buttercream. 
8. Frost the whole cake and decorate as desired.

Avocado Frosting

Finally, a recipe for red velvet cake that actually tastes great, and is devoid of chemical colourants.
Beet plays a starring role here, not only to tinge this cake a lovely deep red, but also gives it a healthy dose of iron and a multitude of other nutrients: vitamin C, fiber, potassium and manganese. Definitely a good way to sneak in, or incorporate, produce in your desserts ;)



This was Max's birthday cake, one of four cakes that I made for the quad's birthday. The theme this year was veggies, yes, veggies. For the cakes, I mean. Not the party, LOL! Max's designated colour was pink, and so red velvet, being red, was appropriate. And so it was only natural that the cake would 'naturally' be beet red, not Red 40 red. The other cakes were German's Chocolate Cake (with coconut), Zucchini Chocolate Cake, and Vegan Chocolate Cake (with applesauce). See, really isn't hard to fortify your desserts with produce.

Beet Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients:
5 medium sized beets, washed, and trimmed of stalks and leaves.

270 ml (1 cup + 2 tbsp) buttermilk
1 large lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp)
20 ml (4 tsp) white vinegar
3 tsp vanilla extract

300 g (scant 2-1/2 cups) cake flour
35 g (5 tbsp) natural cocoa powder, not dutch processed
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

260 g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) butter, at room temperature
400 g (2 cups) light brown sugar
4 eggs + 1 yolk, at room temperature

Directions:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set the oven to 175C or 350F.
2. With a sharp knife, make shallow cuts (2cm) deep into the center. This will help cook it faster.
3. Place them on the baking sheet, and bake for about 90 minutes, or until a knife cuts through clean and smooth.
4. When cool to touch, peel, and chop. We'll need 1-1/2 cups for the purée.
You can prepare the beets a day before and refrigerate it in an airtight container.

5. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.
6. Grease and flour 3 9-inch cake pans, and set aside.

7. Place the 1-1/2 cups of beets, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, and vanilla extract in a blender or food processor, and purée till smooth. Set this aside.
8. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set this aside.
9. In a stand mixer, or a large bowl, beat the softened butter with the sugar until creamy and lightened in colour.
10. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the yolk, waiting until it is incorporated before adding the next one, and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
11. Alternate adding the flour, in 3 additions, and the beet purée in 2 additions. Begin and end with the flour.
12. Divide the batter between the 3 cake pans, smooth the surface with a spatula, and tap it on a towel-lined counter lightly to remove the air pockets.
13. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
14. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
15. Brush with rum cake syrup, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

Chèvre and Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe makes enough to sandwich and cover a three layered cake. If you want to just sandwich the cake, like I did, make half the recipe. The cake I made in the picture above is frosted with Italian Meringue buttercream, recipe here, which I find holds its place especially in warmer weather, which is when we have all our birthdays ;)

Ingredients:
240 g cream cheese
240 g chèvre (goat cheese)
240 g (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 - 3 tbsp milk, or as needed

Directions:
1. In a stand mixer, or a large bowl, beat the chèvre and the cream cheese until smooth.
2. Add the butter in 3 additions, followed with the salt, then the vanilla extract.
3. Slowly add the icing sugar at a low speed, a cup at a time.
4. Once all the sugar is mixed in, turn up the speed and whip it for 5-6 minutes to 'fluff' it up.
5. If it seems a bit thick to spread out, add the milk as necessary.

Rum Cake Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup rum (optional)
Boil water in a saucepan, then stir in the sugar until dissolved. When cooled, add the rum.
This amped up simple syrup will keep your cakes moist and fresh.

If you're wondering what all those numbers in the Project stand for ... oh ... you're not? You figured it out? ... Nice! ... But why call it a project? Well, if I have to plan it, prepare for it, and lose some sleep over it, it becomes a project. Almost all of the content ... er, culinary treats, you see on the blog came about while I was rummaging through the pantry. These cakes, on the other hand, need to be planned. And that is why they are projects. Invariably, my projects are usually celebration cakes. And most definitely, they will have taken more than one session in my miniscule kitchen. Besides, it gives me more satisfaction to check off a project that is done, than to just declare that 'dinner is ready'.

Why Triple? Because if we are going to overload a cake with something, it better be chocolate. Well, seriously, this is our Triple Chocolate Cake because we made two kinds of chocolate cake ... one with milk chocolate, one with dark, two layers each. And we glued it together with chocolate meringue buttercream. Oh yes!