"The year of the Rat," according to that one Chinese restaurant place mat: "You are ambitious, yet honest. Prone to spend freely. Seldom making lasting friendships." I remember reading this as a kid at Bamboo Buffet during one of our crowded family dinners with the Duartes. Even at that age, I saw a universal truth to this place mat.
It is hard to make lasting friendships. Like... really hard.
Time passes. People grow. Space distances. Schedules interfere. Some friendships require work; others remain comfortable no matter how long you haven't seen one another. It's natural. When you do find those friendships that stand the test of life, you know you've got something special.
We had a post-Thanksgiving "Friendsgiving" potluck this past weekend and it was scrumptious! It's a pretty international group so every dish had it's own identity. Allen brought Chinese scallion pancakes; Sulava repped the vegetarians with eggplant and tofu; Joey picked up Peruvian chicken; Melissa made Italian meatballs; Mike cooked Unami Turkey burgers; and Aziz blew everybody out of the water with his amazing Somali Chicken and Biriyani. Post on Biriyani to come!
That left me with the sweet tooth. I went with a recipe I've been wanting to try for quite awhile from What Katie Ate. It's a monstrous Chocolate Fudge cake. Chocolate is in the name- so don't wuss out on the quality. Give this cake love because you're making it for people you love.
This cake is no joke. It's very easy to make, basic ingredients, and all you need is a single 9 inch round pan. The part where I struggled was halving the single layer of 9 inch round cake. My cake leveler.... umm.. well... it sucks. Terribly. I've been aware of it's wobbly blade for awhile. This past Saturday, there was no denying its evil.
At this point, there was only two options: keep it as a single layered cake or make a second layer. You can already guess who won. Katie's directions state that if you want a 3 layer cake, you double the recipe and split evenly amongst 3 cake pans. I doubled the recipe and divided it between 2 pans. Yup. That's a LOT of cake.
I was very excited that the batter contained a generous tablespoon of blackberry jam! No one could detect the subtle difference other than my brother. It's not fruity but it does bite make some of the sweetness.
The cake's texture is soft and yet heavy. This is why you should halve a single layer of 9 inch cake. By itself, it just a bit too much for a chocolate light weight.
The cake's texture is soft and yet heavy. This is why you should halve a single layer of 9 inch cake. By itself, it just a bit too much for a chocolate light weight.
Plus, with two thin layers of cake, the fudge-like aspect of the cake really gets to shine. This can be accredited to the frosting! It is elegant and silky which provides a fantastic balance to the entire production. It's a fun butter cream to decorate! You could do the traditional, smooth look... or let it go wild. I literally smacked the cake with the flat of a dull knife to make crazy uneven peeks everywhere.
If you're looking for a rich, decadent chocolate cake with a slight twist, this is your fellow! The next time I make this, I may add something with a lil crunch in between the layers to interrupt the texture.
For the full recipe, check out my favorite Aussie foodie, What Katie Ate.
