Hey guys, I know I have been afk for quite some time, but sadly things need to get done irl sometimes. In fact I have been busy with quite a few amazing projects on the farm - but that is a story for another day.

What I wanted to share with you today, is a story of a sweeter nature - although the end result was much sweeter that the process of making it happen...

Recently it was my self confessed chock-o-holic daughter's birthday, and although she turned 19 she still insisted that mommy make her a cake. To be more accurate - A Chocolate Drip Cake.

Now look, when it comes to baking - I can find my way around any kitchen,however, icing cakes has not exactly been a practiced skill if you know what I am saying. But hey - I saw someone make a chocolate drip cake on youtube once - how hard could it be... right?

So I started of with the obvious first step, baking the layers of the cake, for this cake I would need 3 x 21cm layers. At least this is a step that I am familiar with and so far the confidence was still at a peak. And the recipe that I was about to use was a well tested one that I had baked on numerous occasions. It is a egg free recipe, making this cake suitable for vegetarians, and at the same time it is delightfully rich and moist.

Here is the recipe I used:

CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE

• 3 CUPS FLOUR
• 2 CUPS SUGAR
• ½ CUP COCOA
• 2 TSP BI CARB
• 1 TSP SALT

1. SIFT TOGETHER ABOVE DRY INGREDIENTS
2. MAKE 3 HOLES IN FLOUR MIXTURE
3. PUT IN
   a. 2 TSP VANILLA
   b. 2 TSP VINEGAR
   c. 1 CUP OIL
4. POUR 2 CUPS WATER OVER ALL
5. MIX BATTER WELL
6. BATTER WILL BE A LITTLE THIN
7. POUR INTO 2 TINS WELL GREASED OR ONE BIG PAN
8. BAKE AT 190*C FOR 30 – 40 MINUTES (DO TEST AS SOMETIMES READY SOONER)

To ensure that the cake bakes evenly - I made some home made heat strips that fit around the circumference of the cake pans. This is basically some wet kitchen towel, wrapped in tin foil that I wrap around the cake-pans sides. This helps the cake not mound in the middle so that you have a level surface to the cake layers without having to trim at the cake too much.

Once the easy part was done, and the cake layers were left to cool for some time - the real work began...

The Icing:

For the white exterior of the cake I decided to go with a simple butter cream Icing:

4 cups Powdered Sugar (or 1 pound)
1 cup Butter (Softened)
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2-4 tablespoons Cream

INSTRUCTIONS
Add softened butter and vanilla to the mixing bowl and mix until completely combined.
Add Powdered Sugar and beat on low until it is incorporated. Then move mixer up to medium-high speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When completely mixed the frosting may appear dry.
Add cream a little bit at a time until frosting is the proper consistency.

After about an hour and a half of pedantic faffing while using all the wrong equipment - I managed to get the icing on the side of the cake reasonably smooth, or at least to a point where I was happy to start with the chocolate drip.

For the chocolate drip I made a very simple chocolate ganache.
1 cup of chocolate melted into a half a cup of heavy cream.
I let that cool a bit and reach a thicker consistency, before I placed it into a squeeze bottle with a nozzle tip.

I slowly made my way around the cake allowing the chocolate to drip down the side of the cake sporadically at different lengths.

Once done - I topped the top layer of the cake with whatever chocolate ganache was left - and then decorated the cake with a selection of chocolate treats as you can see in the photo

All and all - the effort was well worth the reward - and I had a very happy teenager at the end of it all, so I certainly cant complain...
If only the cake could have lasted as long as it took me to make; sadly though that wasnt the case, and the entire cake was devoured in the wink of an eye.