Happy Birthday Rob!

Today is my awesome husband’s birthday!  Yesterday we had a fun bbq with friends and then today we had a small party with just family.

I made him two cakes.

This one for the party:

It’s a three layer, 6” round chocolate cake with fudge buttercream.  Then I made it into a minion!  He turned out way better than I could have hoped.  Not bad for starting it at 6am before the rest of the house arose for the day.

Today I made him his birthday birthday cake, his favourite:

It’s 4” round Black Forest Cake.  Chocolate cake with layers of whipped cream and cherries.

Chocolate Cake (my kids absolute favourite)

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup freshly brewed coffee

1. In bowl of stand mixer, combine dry ingredients.
2. Add buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla slowly until just combined.
3. Slowly add coffee until just combined.  Remove bowl from mixer and fold to make sure all in incorporated.
4. Divide into 4 6” round pans. (I weigh my bowl and divide by number of pans, subtracting weight of bowl)
5. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.  Let cool 15 minutes before removing to cool completely.
6. Ice with buttercream.

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream

• 1 cup softened unsalted butter
• 1 cup room temperature shortening
• 7 cups icing sugar
• 1 cup cocoa
• 6 tbsp milk

1. Cream butter and shortening until combined.
2. Add icing sugar and cocoa.
3. When combined at tablespoons of milk one at a time until desired consistency.  The thicker the icing the harder to spread.

Cherries (can be used in Black Forest cake as well as cherry pie filling:

• 1 can tart cherries in water
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp sugar

1. Drain cherries and place liquid into small saucepan.
2. Add sugar and simmer until dissolved.
3. Add cornstarch and sugar and mix constantly until it starts to thicken.
4. Put reserved cherries back into juice mixture and combine.  Set aside and let cool.

We also bought him balloons.  This is Rowan on the trip home.

In hindsight, 38 balloons in my car might have been pushing it!

I think he had a pretty good day!

Happy Birthday to the best hubby!  Love ya

Thanks for looking!