Last week was my husband’s birthday. Sean turned 27, which makes us the same age now…as I am the older woman by 7 months.
Scandalous, I know.
There are many things about this dude that I love, for example:
He’s a major dork, for one…which is perfect, because I am prone to being a total weirdo myself.
He totes rids our home of all the spiders for me. This is key, since I become paralyzed with terror every time I come across one–from the tiniest little guy to the biggest ugliest ones. It’s irrational, I know. I just can not handle it though.
We hate all the same stuff. This is a totally negative and cynical way to look at things, but it’s true. And important. It just is.
He is a huge supporter of my blogging/baking/cooking endeavors. He manages all the technical stuff with this website AND manages business at his engineering job. Pro-fesh.
We both love to geek out about all sorts of things–nature, geology (I secretly/not so secretly now, love geology), music, the mountains, etc.
Speaking of geek-outs…we both LOVE food.
We love to splurge on quality over quantity. Trips and vacations, when we do travel, are centered around what we’re eating. I mean, we planned our honeymoon specifically to eat in a great food city–btw, Vancouver, BC is not only an amazing food city, but it is just so dang beautiful.
We share a lot of favorite foods–oysters (omg, omg), burgers of all sorts, korean food, mexican food, and oh-so-many more…but, the one that we both love…the one that he probably (somehow) loves more than me, is chocolate. That man (I have said it before), is a certifiable choco-saurus. So, every year (for the past 7 years), it’s always a chocolate cake for his birthday in some form or another. This year, it was pure and simple chocolate pound cake iced with whipped ganache. It really can’t get much more chocolate-y than that.
So, I guess my point is…after all that rambling…Sean is a great dude. My favorite in fact. We go together like birthdays and cake. I love him to bits and pieces and he can always count on me to make him the best chocolate birthday cake I can muster. Always and forevs.
Chocolate Birthday Cake w/ Whipped Ganache Frosting
cake adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet.
This cake recipe is actually a pound cake recipe that makes the perfect amount of batter for a 6-inch layer cake…which in my opinion, is a great size cake for smaller gathering (in this case, 2 people). The crumb is fantastic, tight and dense without being heavy. The whipped ganache is about as easy as it gets and is perfect for the choco-saurus’ in your life. Use any leftover ganache to roll into light and airy truffles. Another note about this cake, it is best served at room temperature, the frosting and cake will feel dry and hard if served cold–if you make it ahead and refrigerate, just let it sit out on the counter for 30-60 minutes.
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons room temperature, unsalted butter
2 large eggs + 1 egg white, cold
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 2, 6-inch round cake pans by buttering and lining bottoms with parchment. Alternatively, butter and flour a 6 cup capacity tube pan.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, stir to combine.
Add the butter, egg, and white. Mix on medium-high for 2 minutes. Scrape bowl as needed. Combine milk, espresso, and vanilla. Add to the batter, mix for 2 minutes, scraping as needed. Scrape the batter into 2, 6-inch cake pans or into a tube pan.
Bake the cakes in the oven for about 25-35 minutes (it may take a little longer in the tube pan). Cool 10 minutes in the pan before unmolding to cool completely on cooling racks.
Once cooled completely, cut the cakes in half to make 4 layers.
Whipped Ganache Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart.
1 lb. chocolate coarsely chopped, or chips (I used ghiradelli)
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
Place chocolate and salt in a medium bow or bowl of a mixer, set aside.
In a saucepan, heat heavy cream just to a boil. Remove from heat and pour hot cream over the chocolate. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plate and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk ganache until smooth and allow to cool to room temperature.
Beat cooled ganache until fluffy. Use immediately.
Megan
Not only does this look delicious, but it’s perfect! You’ve got cake skills like whoa.
And yes! Hating the same things is totally important, as is food-love.
cindy
thanks man! and yeah, we’re totally bonded in dislike and food. it’s just the way to be.
NicoleD
This cake makes me wish it was my birthday! It looks so crazy delicious! I’m a sucker for perfect layered slices, too.
cindy
thanks Nicole! birthdays everyday!
heather
This cake is amazingly beautiful and delicious!
And I love geology too! I found a perfectly round rock and I just KNOW there’s a geode in there. It’s slightly too big for me to crack with a hammer. The suspense is killing me.
cindy
OH MAN! I dream of finding a geode on day…I really hope your rock is one, that would be amazing!
Erica
Cuuuute.
Four layers, too! Lucky man! 😉
cindy
thanks Erica!
Maggie @ A Bitchin' Kitchen
Aww, what a sweet birthday tribute to your man! Happy birthday to Sean!
This cake looks delicious!!
cindy
aw, thanks Maggie!
Lynn @ I'll Have What She's Having
Happy Birthday to your husband! This cakes looks wonderful!
cindy
Thanks! I’ll tell him 🙂
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
Happy birthday to the big guy! If he loves chocolate, he’s a cool dude in my books. 😉 What a fab cake!
cindy
Thanks Amanda!
Neil | Butterfield
It sounds like you two are a match made in heaven. So refreshing to see this. I wish you a long and happy relationship together.
cindy
Thank you so much Neil!
Terris-FreeEats
Totally love this post. The cake is completely gorgeous- perfectly layered.
The best part? Reading your tribute to your relationship with Sean. My husband and I always say, marry the person you would want to be with if you were stranded on a dessert island. I never get sick of this guy and we’ve been married since we were like 10. Sounds like you guys have got that and then some.
cindy
aw, thank you SO MUCH terris! we are pretty good pals, I like your couple philosophy…solid!
Terris-FreeEats
holy Freudian slip! DESERT
Apparently the other one is ALL I think about.
cindy
haha! I didn’t even notice, jeez 😉
Nikki
This cake is so beautiful. When you love food, it’s so important to have friends and partners that love too. Otherwise they just don’t get you. Happy late birthday to your husband!
cindy
agreed!
Hannah Kendall
This looks ridiculously good. Lucky husband!
And yes, Vancouver is AMAZING. It is taking forever for me to slowly eat everything this city has to offer, but I’m making progress.
xox
cindy
thank you Hannah! 5 days in Vancouver was not enough…I definitely want to go back one day!
Mary's Pastry Lab
This cake is out of the world! 4 layer chocolate cake? Say whatttt!!! I’m so going to follow your blog from now on. 🙂
cindy
aw! thanks Mary! this makes my day!
Patricia Scarpin
Happy birthday to your hubby! You guys are so young. 😉
The cake looks amazing, so delicious! I love both Alice Medrich and Martha.
cindy
Thank you Patricia!