Birthdays,Cakes And Gifts

I made this lovely chocolate mayo layer cake with hazelnut frosting on Thursday for my boyfriend's 20th birthday on Friday.In the process of making the cake my family was really amused and impressed by the cakes neat shaped appearance.I really wanted to challenge myself and go with my imagination for this creation.I actually highly impressed myself in the time and creativity I put in to it.It's one of those cakes that takes time and a gentle hand to put all together, that you almost don't want it eaten in the end.

When you sometime try out most cakes they either come off to dry;however with this chocolate cake it is given a lot of moisture  from the eggs and mayonnaise.So if you were turn off when I said chocolate mayo cake earlier,I'll explain that it actually doesn't taste anything like mayonnaise, all it does is serve towards keeping the cake a really moist texture.With the frosting I didn't want to just go with a boring flavor so I chose to make a hazelnut frosting by using  Nutella and it was surprisingly good. The black and white bark pattern around the side was my imagination kicking in and I thought that it be a great idea to bring this cake alive.Plus the chocolate shavings on top was an added bonus as well.

The overall cake was deliciously moist and airy along with its chocolaty and sweet flavors.The recipe for mayo cake was simple to follow and I have used it multiple times for past cakes and I still haven't found any other cake that I found better in taste and texture.It was a wonderful cake to put together and to just let your imagination just fly when your making it.

My boyfriend( David) was very thankful and happy for his birthday gift.I was happy that something that I made out of love,creativity and time brings a smile to someones face In my opinion,giving baked goods as a gift is a thoughtful idea along with bringing your own imagination and creativity into the mix.Especially baking as a Christmas gift, which I just started doing a couple years ago towards my close family and friends.Its a really fun and creative way for yourself and a really tasty gift for the receiver.So enjoy and try out some recipes to give as gifts.

Tip: if you ever want to make a cake exactly like the one in the picture aways serve immediately because the chocolate bark can melt so easy.Keep refrigerated before serving

 David's Birthday Cake Creation
(Inspired From Chocolate Mayo Layer Cake recipe, Joy of baking and easycakeideas)

2 cups flour

2/3 cocoa powder,sifted

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup mayonnaise

1 1/3 cup water

1.Oven to 350F
2.Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.

3.Combine flour,cocoa,baking soda and baking powder.Mix well,set aside.

4.Beat eggs,sugar and vanilla in lg bowl until combined( high speed)

5. On Low speed, beat in mayonnaise.
6.Add flour mixture in batches, alternating with water.( beginning and ending with the flour mixture ) 1/4 flour and then 1/4 water.Beat till smooth.

7.Pour in pans,bake 30-35 minutes.Cool for 10 mins and then remove from pan.
8.Cool completely before frosting and decorating, best to place in fridge.

White Frosting

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter,softened

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1.Beat ingredients together for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy
2.Add 2 tbsp of nutella, beat in.(Got the nutella hazelnut frosting idea from easycakeideas)3.Frost cake when cooled.
4. While time passes if the frosting becomes grainy re beat until smooth again.

Decorating:

For bark: I cut 5 inch length and 3 inch wide semisweet chocolate bark and white chocolate bark for the cakes side border.( white chocolate bark is very sensitive and fragile) I would even recommended making marbled bark for the sides for strength.The chocolate bark recipe is adapted from the method on joyofbaking.

Chocolate shavings: White shaving are from extra baker's white chocolate and dark is Hershey milk chocolate bar. Using a vegetable peeler for shavings. Place chocolate bar in apron pocket to warm up the chocolate to make larger in length shavings. Sprinkle shaving on top