black velvet cake

DSCF1848I was telling my coworker about how red velvet cake is really just chocolate cake plus a bottle of red food coloring, and he said, “You know, the real reason why people go crazy over red velvet cake is the cream cheese frosting.” And I said, “Well then, why don’t I just make a normal chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting? Ok, I’ll do it.” And thus, black velvet cake is born. 6/21: This post has been updated to be assembly instructions instead of baking instructions 😉

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sprinkles’ chocolate marshmallow cupcakes

DSC_6893My first attempt at marshmallow frosting! It went much more smoothly than I expected, and I guess my fear of whisking egg whites on active heat was kind of unfounded. My favorite Sprinkles cupcake is the Chocolate Marshmallow, but the closest Sprinkles is about 30 minutes away driving. The solution for my lazy butt is to Google a recipe and make my own! I used my own ganache and chocolate cake recipes, per the links below, and just borrowed a marshmallow filling recipe from the Internet. I found it to be a little undersweet, which was surprising, so next time I may add a tad more sugar…
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tom douglas’ truffle cookies

DSC_6677I’ve been to Seattle countless times, and every time I’m there I take multiple trips to Tom Douglas’ Dahlia Bakery. In the winter, they have these bomb ass chewy ginger cookies that I inhale, but for all other months of the year they have these truffle cookies that I savor. They’ve got a texture similar to brownie edges which is legitimately everyone’s favorite part. I’ve followed his published recipe a handful of times and it’s pretty finnicky, so here it is with my notes. Read more

valrhona vs ghirardelli – dark chocolate espresso cookies

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I did in fact get around to rebaking these Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies to compare Valrhona vs Ghirardelli. But I accidentally put less (1/4 c instead of 1/2c) brown sugar so they weren’t an exact replica of my first batch of these cookies. But as a comparison of cocoa powders, they still sufficed. Plus I mean they were still delicious and not not-sweet enough, just a little more rustic looking.
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moistest chocolate cake

DSC_6619This is the only chocolate cake recipe you will ever need for the rest of your life. It’s perfect.

Single bowl recipe. Super chocolatey. Stays fresh for multiple days. Not that you’ll need that last trait because this cake will get eaten up so quickly, if not by yourself and your friends/family, then by ME. Goddamn I love this recipe. Ugh. Don’t be fooled by that cupcake photo above – this cake recipe cares not for the shape of its end result. Frosted or not, cupcakes, layer cakes, loaves, ice cream cakes (!)… great in all forms.
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