It would seem that almost everyone I know has a birthday this month (including me). This time, it was two of my bestest friends who are now a couple, but I consider them family! We've known each other for around 25 years now!
Testing out my fancy toys again, I made heart-shaped cupcakes and ordinary cupcakes using my silicone baking trays (since I still haven't bought liners for my traditional trays, and they turned out absolutely beautifully!
I had a disaster with my springform baking tin though, as is appears, it got squashed and warped just a tiny bit in the cupboard, but enough for the batter to leak out and set the oven on fire!! Poor @zakludick had me screaming like a fishwife while we tried to deal with this hot pot of chocolate lava - and still save it!
Well, we managed! Honestly, I should have lined the tin with baking paper like I usually do, which also would have saved us the drama, but I was out of that too and it was late.
I also ran out of jam, so I had to get inventive and find something equally sugary - so I replaced it with Coca-Cola!! It's an old trick here in South Africa but I've never tried it. I must say, the result was incredible! I think I might have to change that "perfect chocolate cake recipe after all!
I'm still experimenting with vanilla and chocolate and my new piping toys, but this is what I came up with.
You can see when I started getting tired and when I was just trying to empty out the icing from the tube! Lol.
Well, I must have eaten about 300g of icing during the process... it happens. Don't judge, ok? But needless to say, I wasn't feeling so good after that. I probably also shouldn't have had that for breakfast.
Then on top of it all, after crafting this masterpiece (and feeling guilty for missing the party last week - and wondering why they weren't texting me back) I discovered my friends were already in Amsterdam! Well, at least I know from experience that this cake freezes extremely well!
Another reason why my chocolate cake recipe is the BEST!
Claire's Crazy Cakes, Bakes and Kitchen Hacks: Chapter 3 - Ultimate Chocolate Cake
They look yummy ! Also, I've never heard of that Coca Cola trick before, I'll have to remember that π
it caramelizes in the heat! it's also great in braai marinades, just fyi. especially on ribs or pork chops!