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ben's birthday cake: 'incredibly sinful chocolate' (says recipe, agrees me) plus brown butter icing 

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DebbsGa  Pro User  says:

love how you took this,,such a cute cake and those candles are adorable,,happy b day lil one
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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No_Pasa_Nada  Pro User  says:

The strawberries and the sprinkles are the perfect touch. I want that cake. Feel free to ship it down south.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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leighsteele77  Pro User  says:

OK, heaven on a plate right there. Um, recipe pls?
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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sweet | salty  Pro User  says:

Hey, Leigh I'll email it to you. It's from Mrs. Restino's Country Kitchen - an American 'back-to-the-lander' who came to Nova Scotia to make her own yogurt and slay her own lambs and etc. It's a fantastic book.
www.amazon.com/Restinos-Country-Kitchen-Susan -Restino/dp/...

The icing is Martha Stewart... brown butter icing that's supposed to be put on top of another favourite, her Pumpkin Spice Cookies.
www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pumpkin-cookies- with-brown-b...
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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AlieMalie  Pro User  says:

Kate, could you please post the recipe? That looks divine and I've never heard of brown butter icing, so I feel I must try.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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nicspir  Pro User  says:

GORGEOUS cake. Wow. Yum.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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greeblemonkey  Pro User  says:

oh yum. I want one. My birthday was April 27. ;)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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sweet | salty  Pro User  says:

Okay, so here's the recipe AlieMalie - this page in my Mrs. Restino's is all crusty and the book flips open to it automatically. This is my constant birthday cake. Never fails.

The Most Incredible Chocolate Cake

Mrs. Restino writes: "From a nutritional standpoint, there is just no excuse for this cake. It is absolute sheer total sin. And worth every bite."

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small pan, mix into a paste and heat a little (watch it doesn’t burn):
½ cup water
3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate or 7½ tbsp unsweetened cocoa (I use cocoa)

Meanwhile, mix together in this order, beating well after each addition:
½ cup room-temperature butter
pinch of salt
1½ cups sugar
2 beaten eggs

Add and beat in the chocolate and:
1 tsp vanilla

In the (just emptied) chocolate pan, mix together:
¾ cup buttermilk (or yogurt or sour cream – I use buttermilk)
1 tsp baking soda

Add to the batter by half-cups, alternating with the buttermilk/soda mix and beating well after each addition:
1½ cups unbleached flour

Pour the batter into a well-greased cake pan (I use springform pans – I tend to make two cakes, then stack them with icing in between) and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. (note: I’ve always found it takes closer to 45 minutes – just check it now and then. It should spring back to the touch when done.) Cool before unmolding.

Icing

I either ice this with Mocha Icing (below, for grown-ups) or with Martha’s Brown Butter Icing (also below). Either is excellent.

Mrs. Restino’s Mocha Java Icing

½ cup butter
1 tbsp (a dribble, small glug, etc.) coffee
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp buttermilk
2½ cups sifted icing sugar

Mix, spread, lick knife. This combination – the chocolate cake plus mocha icing – is somehow made into perfection with strawberries on top. Don’t know why. It must be done.

OR

Martha Stewart’s Brown Butter Icing

4 cups icing sugar
10 tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla

Put icing sugar in large bowl; set aside. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until golden brown, about three minutes. Immediately add melted butter to icing sugar, scraping any browned bits from the pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla. Mix. (Note: I thought this icing recipe would make a huge pile, but I just barely had enough for the double-layer birthday cake plus just the top of one more cake, all spread quite thinly. That said, Mrs. Restino’s cake is so moist it doesn’t need huge quantities of icing).

Let me know if you make it, okay? :)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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mainemomma ~ kristin  Pro User  says:

YUM
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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tumblieweed  Pro User  says:

uhm, holy cow yum. strawberries in winter, no less.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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