Allie's 20th Birthday

I asked my sister what kind of cake she wanted and she said, "Chocolate!". Next was what type of frosting, buttercream or whipped cream? Chocolate buttercream it was. AND she wanted Snickers on top. She is pregnant, you know. I thought of making the cake Snickers flavored but she didn't want to have peanuts on the cake. So I made the chocolate cake, caramel buttercream filling and chocolate buttercream frosting from scratch and added the Snickers on top. This cake traveled 2 hours with no melting after an overnight stay in the fridge. Happy 20th Birthday, sis!

Chocolate Cake

1 1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, room temp

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

2 cups cake flour, sifted

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

6 oz semi sweet chocolate baking bars, melted and cooled

In mixing bowl combine sugar, butter and vanilla. Add eggs and beat for 1 minute. Add melted chocolate. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add milk. In 2, 8" round baking pans, spray with oil, coat sides with cocoa powder and line with parchment paper. Divide batter between pans and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. I rotate my pans after 20 minutes to ensure even baking. Cool to room temp on wire rack then move to fridge to chill before frosting.

Caramel Buttercream Filling

1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/3 cup butter, room temp

2/3 cup Smucker's caramel topping

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Use paddle attachment combine butter and shortening. Add caramel and vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar. Scrape down sides . If too dry, a milk 1 tbsp at a time.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
3/4 cup butter

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

2 oz semi-sweet chocolate baking bars, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp milk

2 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients except milk and powdered sugar. Alternate adding powdered sugar and milk until fluffy.

"Turtle"

"Turtle" was made for my friend Cleo's sis-in-law's 17th birthday, since they say she looks like a turtle and they call her that sometimes we thought it would be fun to surprise her. The cake is Dark Chocolate Fudge and Devil's Food with Milk Chocolate Frosting by Duncan Hines. There is a Smuckers caramel filling with crushed pecans between the layers. Sand is made from brown sugar and crushed pecans. The turtle hump is formed with hand-molded Rice Crispies Treats and covered with Wilton precolored fondant. The sugar flowers and leaves were Wilton. This was a really cute and fun cake to make. It tasted great and if I were to make another turtle flavored cake, I would mix the pecans into the batter before baking and instead of using the caramel as a filling I would inject it into the baked cake.