“Do you know what it says?”

“What?”

“Happy birthday Dudley Dursley! Do you know why??”

*Laughs* “Why?”

“Because I got you more presents than last year!”

And just like that, I turned 23. I seriously have the best sister ever. Even if she did drop the cake just seconds before the clock struck 12.

Making Devil’s Food Cake

Here’s the devil’s food cake, as promised. I’ve never been too keen on making cakes because I always mess them up, and this time was no exception. I was chasing daylight and didn’t cool the cakes enough before turning them out of their tins, resulting in a nice large crack on one of them. Luckily the frosting saved the day, as it will for you other novice bakers out there. So don’t worry and pile it on; swirl it or smooth it and it will conceal any and all flaws (with the 1 1/2 sticks of butter in it, you really can’t expect anything less).

I probably should’ve picked a recipe that’s less hefty to inaugurate the new calorie count “feature”. In any case, I’d like to share with you the cause for this celebration:

OSCE marks are out. A bit disappointed at the one for station 2 (90.9% marks for VCT for HIV patients - I thought I did better. Ah well, it’s a pass), but other than that I’m pretty chuffed to bits. So enjoy this, share it to lessen the guilt and try not to hate me or the anon who requested the calorie count.

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE (recipe by David Lebovitz) :

[ 9 tablespoons cocoa powder + 1 1/2 cup cake flour (or all purpose flour, sifted) + 1/2 teaspoon salt + 1 teaspoon baking soda + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder + 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter + 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 2 large eggs + 1/2 cup strong coffee + 1/2 cup milk ]

Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter two 9″ x 2″ cake pans and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.

Sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, or by hand, beat together the butter and sugar about 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. (If using a standing electric mixer, stop the mixer as necessary to scrape down the sides to be sure everything is getting mixed in.)

Mix together the coffee and milk.

Stir half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, then add the coffee and milk. Finally stir in the other half of the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter into the two prepared cake pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the ganache frosting:

GANACHE FROSTING:

[ 10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped + ½ cup water (or cream) + ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter ]

Melt the chopped chocolate with the water (or cream) in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted.

Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk them into the chocolate until completely melted and the ganache is smooth.

Cool until spreadable, which may take about 1-2 hours at room temperature (I actually just put it in the fridge to speed up the process)

Meanwhile, check on the cake:

When the cakes are done, take it out of the oven and cool completely before turning them out of their tins.

TO FROST THE CAKE:

Tilt one cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper from the bottom and invert it back onto a cake plate.

Spread a good-sized layer of icing over the top.

Top with the second cake layer and spread the top and sides with the remaining icing as decoratively as you want.

Enjoy!

Estimated Nutritional Information:

9-inch diameter cake, serves approx. 10

Per Serving:

Total Calories: 485 Kcal

Fat: 16g (5g saturated)

Cholesterol: 31mg

Protein: 4g

Making Red Velvet Cake

Here’s the classic Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate Frosting to kick off what would hopefully be a string of posts for Valentine’s day dessert ideas. To be honest, I was inspired to make this because I remembered that badass Dr. Yang chose it for her wedding cake. I wanted to do it justice and have the colour just right. Nowadays the RVC has been tainted with one tablespoon too many red food colouring that it almost looks toxic. I mean come on; you want an alluring, luscious shade of red. Not that of a firetruck’s. This is a very decadent cake; with silky vanilla buttercream filling and smooth dark chocolate frosting. Definitely one that guarantees a very,very good end to the evening.

Now you’ll have to pardon the rather bad quality of the step by step images because a cousin of mine borrowed my camera and promised that he’d bring it back today, only that he didn’t. Well he did, but he brought it over at 7 PM. By then it’s pretty much useless. I couldn’t bring myself to take a picture of it with the camera phone so I had to take the picture of the cake the next day to do it justice. 

Don’t be intimidated by the seemingly long recipe. I took it from Martha Stewart’s website. Just follow through and you’ll be rewarded. You can make these as individual cupcakes, or as one big cake. I used a square baking tin and cut out circles to make individual sized cakes. 

And no, this is not under 300 cals.

Red Velvet Cake:

[1/3 cup cocoa + 3 tablespoon red food coloring + 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1/2 cup butter, softened + 1 1/2 cup sugar + 4  egg yolks + 1 cup buttermilk + 1 teaspoon salt  + 2 1/4 cup sifted cake flour + 1 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon white vinegar]

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard 12-cup cupcake tins or a square baking tin with baking papers and set aside.

Mix the cocoa, food coloring, and vanilla together in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, using a mixer set on medium-high speed. Add the yolks and beat for 1 more minute.

Add the cocoa mixture and beat to combine. Stir the buttermilk and salt together and add it in thirds, alternating with the flour.

Mix the baking soda with the vinegar and blend into the batter.

Fill each cupcake tin with 3 tablespoons batter, or pour the batter into the square baking tin and bake until a toothpick inserted in the cupcake center tests clean — about 15-20 minutes

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

[ 3 cups confectioner’s sugar + 1 cup butter + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream ]

In a mixer, mix together sugar and softened butter. Mix on medium speed until well blended and then increase to high and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 more minute, adding more cream if needed, to reach spreading consistency. Use to spread on the cupcake or to sandwich the cake layers.

Cooked Chocolate Frosting

[ 240ml milk + 3 tablespoons flour + 1/8 teaspoon salt + 8 ounce dark chocolate + 240g butter + 360g confectioner’s sugar + 2 tablespoon cocoa + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ]

Whisk milk, flour and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Set aside to cool.

Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool.

Beat the butter, sugar and cocoa powder until light and fluffy. Beat in the cooled chocolate, milk mixture and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Use to cover the entire cake.You’d do a much neater job of this than I did, I’m sure.

Transfer to a plate and serve immediately or chill in the fridge.

Enjoy!