I'm Back.

Hello! Did you miss me?

It has been over a month since I last posted, and I'm pretty embarrassed. I'm sure that some of you gave up on me (or at least on my blog) entirely. But, here I am, back from an eventful spring break and a painful transition into the new quarter. I started off this quarter fully intending to cut myself some academic slack, but four days in found myself having promised to sit in on an extra class, write an extra paper, and take on some extra hours at work. This isn't a personal blog, so I will (try) to keep the whining to a minimum, but I just wanted you to know that I haven't been spending all this time twiddling my thumbs, or whatever.

Today I'm back with cake, and in the next few days I will posting meals from the past month that I managed to photograph, but didn't manage to write up.

This cake. Oh man, this cake. I made for a party that I threw on Friday, for the Art History majors, obviously. This is by far the best chocolate cake that I have made, and it might just be the best one I've had. It is moist beyond belief, and the inclusion of cocoa powder AND melted chocolate... mmmm. I'm eating a slice of the leftovers right now, and it might just be even better after a day in the fridge.

The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, of course, with no modifications, and the frosting is basic cream cheese. As for the successful decoration, that's thanks to SK as well. In one of her many, many helpful cake posts, she explains that smooth frosting is achieved using the "crumb layer" technique. A thin layer of frosting is spread on the cake, and the cake is then refrigerated/frozen until the frosting is solid. Then, a second, SMOOTH layer goes on. It works fantastically well.

Smitten Kitchen's Best Chocolate Cake