The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Hello everyone!

Last November, I made this cake for my moms birthday. Now I know what you're thinking "Sam, aren't you super into fitness and healthy eating?" Yes, yes I am, but that doesn't mean I stop celebrating birthdays or moments in life, sometimes cake is served at these things. This is a treat, meaning if I have a slice it's not going to be the end of the world. Treats are like surprises, like once in a blue moon surprises. We're so addicted to sugar (even if you think you aren't, you are) that we have forgotten that desserts used to really be treats! Every once in a while, you are so allowed to have dessert, not every night, but once in a while. It's a treat, a surprise, a blue moon occasion. I also think, if you're going to make a desert, make it from scratch.

Why is a cake from scratch better than a store bought:

- It's made with love.

- You can see everything you put in it.

- Companies don't show the daily percent of sugar in their products and that's just scary. We have no way of knowing how much sugar is really in the product. There are 50+ names for sugar, trust me, there's no way of knowing how much.

- You can say you made it and get extra brownie points.

- You can learn a new skill.

- You can adjust the recipe and make more or less.

Okay! So now that we have our "this is a treat, please don't hate on me for writing a blog about cake" speech out of the way, let's get to baking the cake.

This cake is a combination of four steps: The cake, the chocolate mouse, the chocolate ganache, and the chocolate sheet crumbles. It takes a morning to do and if you're smart, you'll prep the night before. No seriously, it will take all morning if you don't prep and standing that long hurts everything. Also, this cake isn't good for you, it's filled with all the stuff that isn't good for us. But if you're going to make a cake, make it worth it.

Step 1: Baking the cake What you will need: 1/2 cup of cocoa powder

1/2 cup boiling water

2/3 cup shortening

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cup of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/3 cup of buttermilk

How to make it: In a small bowl, stir together cocoa and water until smooth. In a large bowl, beat shortening, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt while alternating the buttermilk. Blend in cocoa mixture.

Bake in two greased and floured pans at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until you can pull a toothpick in and out of the cake without any cake left on the toothpick. If you want to make another layer, add half of the original recipe to a full recipe.

Step 2: Making the chocolate mouse

What you'll need:

- 2/3-3/4 cups of chocolate chips (does not need to be perfect)

- 1 3/4 cups of whipping cream

- 3 egg whites

- 1/3 cup of sugar

How to make: Boil water and take a metal bowl that can be heated and place the chocolate chips in the bowl to melt.

Whip the cream to stiff peaks in one bowl and whip the eggs into stiff peaks in another bowl.

In the egg bowl, slowly add the sugar.

Fold in the melted chocolate and egg mixture. To do this properly, take a little chocolate and add it to the eggs to temper the eggs, we don't want them to curdle. How to fold: take a large baking spatula scrape the side of the entire bowl and motion it towards the inside of the bowl. Think "outside-in".

Take the whip cream and fold it in as well.

Put it in the fridge until it is set. Or when you decide to assemble.

Step 3: Making Chocolate Ganache

What you need: 1 cup of whipping cream

1 cup of chocolate chips

How to make: Bring cream to a boil, and pour over chocolate. It should melt and if it doesn't melt, honestly add it back to the sauce pan you used to boil the cream and melt some more. The more cream you add, the more liquid it will be.

Step 4: Chocolate Sheet Crumbles

What you need:

1/2 cup of chocolate chips (or more if you want a lot)

How to make: Melt chocolate spread it evenly on parchment paper. Roll it like a burrito. Place in fridge to harden.

ASSEMBLY:

Take the first layer of cake and add a layer of chocolate mousse on top. Do this with the other two layers (or just one layer).

Then pour the ganache over the cake.

Unroll the chocolate, you should have something that looks like this:

Add them to the top of the cake like a campfire:

And there it is! The ultimate chocolate cake:) I promise, you wont miss the frosting.

Thanks for reading,

Samantha