Chocolate Cake with KitKats - Birthday Special

Birthdays are always a special occasion. Especially when it is the birthday of that special one who transformed your life forever.....the one who gave you a new identity....a new name.....MOM. 

Last August our little Miss J celebrated her 9th birthday. And as usual I was planning to order a cake from a nice cake shop. But she wanted me to bake a cake for her this time and that too in her favourite chocolate flavour. 

Well it's not just about a cake.....a cake- that i can bake.....but I needed a design and frosting ideas. We were having guests coming over for the party, so  I couldn't go wrong here. To be honest, I was having the jitters. 

Recipe wise,  I've always had my easy go-to chocolate recipe with me and with a help from Pinterest, I got a pretty easy design too. 

So finally, I had a good idea how my cake was going to turn out. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and frosting with Kit Kat bars all around. A chocolate barrel cake. 

So here's how it goes: 

Chocolate cake

Ingredients:
Flour – 2 ½ Cups
Unsweetened cocoa powder – 1/2 cup
Baking soda – 1 tsp
Baking Powder – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Oil - 1 cup
Sugar – 1 1/2 cups
Eggs – 4 large
Whole milk – 1/2 cup
Curd - 1/2 cup
Pure vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Slightly grease a 9 inch round baking tin with oil.
Sieve together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, keep aside.
Mix milk and sour cream in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat together oil and powdered sugar with a mixer along with eggs (add 1 at a time) until well combined. Add vanilla as well and mix. 

Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with milk mixture, ending with flour.
Spoon batter into greased and dusted  pan.
Bake at 180°C until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

Let cool in pan completely on a wire rack. Invert cake.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

500 gms chocolate

2 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

Method

Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl; set aside.

Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Pour over chocolate and let stand until chocolate has softened, about 5 minutes. 

Add butter and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly before using.

To assemble the birthday cake 

Slice the cake horizontally into two. 

Position one layer in serving plate (or cake board)

Put a mound of frosting in the center of the layer and spread with a flat spatula till the edges. 

Place the second layer on top. Slightly press from the top, so that the frosting is properly sandwiched in between. 

Then you can begin to ice the sides and top of the cake. For the top, place a mound of frosting in the center of the cake and push to the sides with your spatula. Then place some frosting on the side of the cake and spread with your spatula. 

Then place the KitKat bars one by one around the cake.

Tie a ribbon neatly and slightly tight around the Kit Kat bars and place it in the refrigerator for sometime. This will help the Kit Kat bars to stick firmly around the cake. And it might look like a barrel. 

Now, you can top it full with gems or m&ms .....that's what I saw in Pinterest or you could do what I did....made a numerical out of it. I made a number 9...after all it was Miss J's 9th birthday. 

However good a cake looks on the outside, the real test is the taste & texture of a cake. I'm generally anxious to know how it turns out when a cake is cut. And to my luck....it was good. I got good reviews from all those who came to our party that day. And I was on cloud 9. So once again - Happy Birthday Miss J. 

Baking a cake isn't difficult. But layering, frosting and getting every part of your design right can be a little exhilarating. But all that effort pays off when that special person for whom you made this has enjoyed it and is happy. 

Try this and make someone happy.