little balls of cake

It's that time of year again, when people find reasons to stay in and warm up by the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa and some delicious treats. For my annual holiday party I decided to make cake balls with my favorite Amy's Bread yellow cake recipe. Tasting one of these delicacies is like sampling a piece of utopia. I spent a lot of time making over 70 of these drops of heaven. So you can imagine by the end of a long day—full of cake, frosting and chocolate—I was utterly relieved to share with my friends. Believe me, they were delighted too.

The power of these chocolate coated cake balls will stop you and send you into a world of bliss. The thought of biting through a chocolate shell into a soft sweet cake continues to marvel me, as the differing textures are so compatible together. I would definitely suggest learning some patience with this dessert and having at least three dish towels nearby...let's just say that by the end of the day my kitchen was happily covered in sugar, flour and chocolate.




Directions:
Bake AMY'S YELLOW CAKE and BUTTERCREAM FROSTING. When the cakes are out of the oven and still warm, dump them into a big mixing bowl. Pour the frosting over the cake—this will be messy. Use your hands (if you don't mind) to mix the cake and frosting. It should be very mushy. Make small balls with the mix. Place the cake balls on a baking sheet and place in freezer for at least 1 hour. Take bakers chocolate and melt in a double boiler (it's good to use a candy thermometer to keep the chocolate at the right temperature). Have the cake balls ready. Use a toothpick to insert into the cake balls and one by one dip in the chocolate. Place the chocolate-coated cake balls back on the pan. Repeat until all of the cake balls are coated. Place in freezer until ready to be served. I enjoyed getting extra fancy by melting more chocolate for drizzling and sprinkles for fun (sorry that I only have pictures from the first few steps of the baking process, but understand that few confections last long enough for a proper photo shoot in my house).

happy indulging!!

a piece of cake

I'm on a bit of a cake-baking rampage. Looking at my calendar and seeing a birthday makes my ears perk up, like a giddy dog. A special cake was in order for September 19th. It was my significant eater's twenty-first birthday, as well as his two brothers (triplets). My close rapport with all of the boys, compelled me to bake a spectacular cake. I decided to go with my favorite yellow cake recipe (below) and chose a chocolate silk frosting, from Amy's Bread cookbook. My significant eater loves chocolate so I thought this frosting would be a nice treat. This cake is moist with sweet vanilla flavors permeating through eating compacted crumb. The chocolate frosting adds contrasting texture, taste and color appealing to the senses in my body. At first bite the words OOH and AHH rolled out of my mouth, almost reflexively.



At the end of a wonderful celebratory weekend, all I could think about was the warmth and sense fulfillment this cake stirred up inside—as if it literally took over my soul. But the boys could only think about one more piece of cake.

Amy's Bread Chocolate Silk Frosting

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 3/8 cups Confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup Cocoa powder
2 cups Unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 tspn Vanilla extract
1/8 tspn Kosher salt

Melt the chocolate chips in the top pan of a double broiler and set it aside to cool. In a separate bowl, sift together the confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder.
In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed until it's very light but not too soft, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar mixture and continue to mix on low to medium-low speed until the sugar and cocoa have been well incorporated. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt and mix again on medium speed until everything is incorporated and the frosting is smooth and has a good spreading consistency, 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to over-mix it or the frosting will get too warm and runny. It should be smooth, glossy, and soft enough to spread but still hold a stiff peak.
The frosting can be used immediately or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, but it should be used within 3 days.

*from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread

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This is seriously the best cake I've ever made. The buttercream frosting is the perfect consistency, with the right amount of fluff. The sweet taste beautifully accentuates the softness of the yellow cake interior. I searched for Amy's Bread (one of my favorite bakery's) cake recipe and recreated it in my own kitchen. I still cannot believe how incredible it tastes and how precise the recipe is. I'm telling you that simply one bite is like eating pure happiness. If all of the world's problems could be solved with a special cake, it would definitely be this one.

compliments to ben baron for being a great help in baking this fine cake and eating it too.