Red Velvet Cake:
250 grams sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
15 grams regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
113 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
300 grams granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
240 mL buttermilk (1 cup)
2 tbsp liquid red food coloring
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:
227 grams  cream cheese, room temperature
227 grams tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
115 grams confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted
360 mL cups cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

Directions:
1. Grease your cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, sift flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

3. Using a stand mixer, beat butter for about 1 minute until soft.
4. Add the sugar to the butter and continue beating for about 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
5. One at a time, add in the eggs, taking care to beat until incorporated and scrape down the bowl after every addition.
6. Pour in the vanilla and beat until the mixture is well-combined.

7. In a cup, whisk together the buttermilk and the red food colouring.

8. Decrease the speed of the mixer to low and add in half of the flour mixture.
9. When it starts to come together, add in the buttermilk mixture, then add in the rest of the flour mixture.

10. In a cup, stir the vinegar and baking soda together. When it starts to fizz, quickly fold into the batter.
11. Pour the batter into the cake pans equally and use the back of a spoon to smooth the tops.
12. Bake for 25–30 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

13. Let the cakes cool in the cake pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

14. Invert the cakes on to the wire rack to let cool completely.
15. Wrap in plastic and store in refrigerator for an hour or until you are ready to frost.

16. Start making the cream cheese frosting by beating the cream cheese and marscapone cheese until mixture is smooth.
17. Beat in the vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar until smooth.
18. If you are using a stand mixer, change to a whisk attachment and slowly add int he heavy cream, whipping until the frosting takes on a spreadable consistency. If needed, add in more sugar to thicken or cream to thin out until the desired consistency is attained.

19. Even out the layers with a serrated knife.
20. Place one of the layers onto the platter and spread a layer of frosting over it.
21. Carefully place another layer of cake on top, making sure that it lines up evenly and layer with frosting.
22. Repeat until you have all your layers stacked neatly.
23. Spread frosting on the top and sides of the cake.
24. Decorate as desired. 

For the writing, we used left over frosting mixed with black food-colouring. The ears and spots were simply fondant circles. To get the ears to stay up, Michelle had to make them rather thick. The white bow can be made easily using a long, rectangular strip of fondant folded so that the ends meet in the centre. A smaller, rectangular strip was used to cinch the the centre to form a bow shape.  This cake recipe was adapted from David Lebovitz' Devil’s Food Cake.

Ingredients:

Cake:
9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup strong coffee (or water)
1/2 cup milk (whole or low-fat)

Ganache frosting:
10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water (or cream)
1-1/2 unsalted butter

Directions:
1. Grease two cake pans and line with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, sift the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

3. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.
4. One at a time, add the eggs, scraping down the sides of the bowl with each addition, beating until mixture is fully incorporated.

5. Mix together the coffee and milk.
6. With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
7. Add the coffee and milk.
8. Stir in the other half of the dry ingredients.

9. Divide the batter into the 3 prepared cake pans, place all 3 in the center rack and bake for 25-30 minutes in an oven preheated to 350ºF, or until it passes the toothpick test.
I usually rotate the pans 3/4 way into total baking time.
10. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
11. Run a knife along the edges to release the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert it gently onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

12. For the frosting, melt the chopped chocolate with the cream in a microwave safe bowl in 15 second spurts, stirring occasionally until melted.
13.  Whisk the butter into the chocolate until completely melted and the ganache is smooth.
14. Cool until spreadable, which may take about 1 hour at room temperature.

To assemble the cake:
17. Even out the tops of the cakes with a bread knife.
18. Place the tallest layer on a cake platter, making sure to save the smoothest cake bottom (when the parchment is removed) for the top most layer.
19. With a silicone brush, brush the cake top with the syrup. Allow time to soak in, about 2-3 minutes.
20. Place a dollop of icing, about a third obviously, and spread gently over the cake. For a more even distribution and a cleaner finish, pipe the icing. Fancy nozzles? Go for it...
21. Repeat with the middle layer.
22. Last layer goes bottom side up.  Empty rest of ganache frosting on the top and try to make the best of it.

This is a Kahlúa-infused mocha cake with a mocha buttercream made for a school project. Although I'm not particularly fond of coffee on its own, I do enjoy it in cake. The buttercream was not too sweet, and the cake itself was light, fluffy and very aromatic.



While it is quite obvious that my cake-writing skills leave much to be desired—Mother could do a better job, but she unfortunately couldn't quite help me with that. (It would have been considered cheating!)—the flowers managed to turn out rather lovely.



We crumb-coated the cake so we could use fondant to decorate it. To make the flowers, cut differently-coloured fondant with multiple sizes of flower-shaped cookie cutters. Roll a toothpick on the ends of the petals to curl them. Then, place the bigger flowers in a muffin tray to help set them in a 3D shape. Layer the flowers and stick them together using a little bit of water. We bought the makeshift stamens from Michael's, which we stuck into tiny balls of fondant.

Oh ... and the welcome was for our grandmothers who were arriving in town just in time for the cake cutting. Needless to say, they loved it!

Ingredients:
6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cocoa powder
3 tsp coffee/espresso granules (Nescafe instant coffee recommended)
1 tbsp water
1 tsp Kahlúa
1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup cake flour
6 egg whites, at room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar

Directions:
1. Grease and line the bottom and sides of two round 9" x 2" cake pans* with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks over a low speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium until the mixture becomes light yellow and creamy.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve the cocoa and coffee in water, Kahlúa, and vanilla. Stir to get rid of lumps.
4. Add the contents of the bowl into the mixture of egg and sugar, pour in the canola oil, and beat until the mixture is incorporated.
5. With a wooden spoon, stir in sifted baking powder and cake flour until well combined.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar into stiff peaks.
7. Fold in a few dollops into the mocha batter, then fold in the rest in thirds.
8. Distribute the batter evenly between two cake pans, each to go on their own baking sheet.
9. Bake them in the upper middle and lower middle racks in a preheated oven of 375º F, making sure to rotate the pans and switch them halfway through. They should be done in 20-25 minutes in total, or until the tops turn out golden-brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
10. Leave the cake layers to cool for 10 minutes. Then turn them over to cool on a wire rack before frosting.

*Alternatively, this can be made as a jelly roll.

Mocha Buttercream

Ingredients:
3/4 cups butter, softened
1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1.5 tbsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1-2 tbsp. of hot water
1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Beat the softened butter and powdered sugar in a mixer until creamy.
2. Add the cocoa powder, coffee, and vanilla extract, and beat for approximately 1-2 minutes until fluffy.

Assembling the cake ;)
1. Cake
2. Buttercream
3. Cake
4. Buttercream
5. Fondant (lots of recipes online which I didn't cover here)
6. Decorate
7. Done!

Now I've had Prune Pudding, which is a Manadonese dessert I enjoy at home. But prunes in a chocolate cake. I was hesitant at first, but the credibility of the source diffused all doubt.
From a recipe by David Lebovitz, slightly adapted.

For the prunes:
170 g pitted prunes, diced in small pieces
1/3 cup (80 ml) rum (I used Bacardi gold)
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp sugar

For the cake:
340 g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
12 tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, cubed
6 large eggs, separated
pinch of salt
3 tbsp sugar

Directions:
Prepare the prunes:
1. Simmer the prunes with the rum, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan for a few minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and set aside till cooled.

2. Butter a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan. Dust with flour or cocoa powder.
3 In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter, in 30 second bursts, stopping and stirring until smooth.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the prunes and any liquid left in the pan.
5. Stir the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture.

6. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
7. With a mixer, whip the egg whites with the salt until they begin to hold soft peaks. Continue whipping, adding the 3 tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until the whites hold their shape.

8. Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture thoroughly, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until no streaks of whites are visible. Don’t overfold.

9. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the sides release a bit, but the center is still soft and moist. Let cool.

Run a thin knife around the cake to loosen it from the pan and remove the springform mold. Dip the knife in very hot water then wipe the blade dry and use it to slice the cake, repeating with each cut.
This cake can be made up to three days in advance, and stored at room temperature. It can also be frozen for up to two months.

1 cup grated cheddar or colby jack (optional)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (less if using cheese)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk

For the meat filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and shredded in the processor
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground lamb or turkey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups frozen peas,corn,carrot mix
1-1/2 to 2 cps shredded cheddar or Colby Jack mix cheese

Directions:
A. Make the mashed potatoes
1. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice.
2. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.
3. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the warmed milk, butter, cheese, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth.
6. Stir in the yolk until well combined.

B. Prepare the mince
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Pour the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat.
3. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and stir to combine.
5. Add the lamb/turkey mince, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute.
7. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, paprika, onion and garlic powders, and stir to combine.
8. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
9. Add the vegetable mix into the meat mixture and stir well.

C. Assemble and bake
1. Spread the meat and vegetable mix evenly into the pan.
2. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula.
3. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown.
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, then return to broil for around 10 minutes until cheese melts and starts to brown.
5. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Best with salad on the side. Now for the treacle tart ....

This is a recipe by Karen DeMasco, pastry chef at Locanda Verde in New York City.
Makes about 1-1/2 jars.

Now we know just how much sugar it takes to bring Nutella up to 'sweet'. Nice to make your own so you know what exactly is in there and in what proportions. You can adjust the sugar to chocolate to hazelnut ratio to make your perfect hazelnut chocolate spread.

Ingredients:
1 cup raw unsalted hazelnuts
225 grams milk chocolate
1/4 cup Demerara or turbinado sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup grapeseed oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread hazelnuts onto a baking sheet and toast for 10 to 15 minutes. Alternately you can toast on a heavy skillet, making sure to keep it moving.
3. Wrap nuts in a damp warm kitchen towel and rub to remove loose skins. No worries if all the skin does not come off.
4. While nuts are still warm, combine with chocolate, sugar and salt in a food processor.
5. Blend until smooth, slowly adding the grapeseed oil.
6. Transfer to jars.
7. Let stand at room temperature until thickened, may take about 2-3 days.

To use immediately, place in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Hazelate is best consumed within a month. To extend its shelf life, store in the fridge then nuke it a few seconds before spreading.

Enjoy!