I imagine the only word that could describe this cake is something spoken in Italian...my god, I wish I were fluent!

So pictured above is the Chocolate Genoise Cake I made tonight - aka: Edible Heaven That Might Not Make It To See Tomorrow.  The pictures do not do it justice.  Seriously, I have been sitting here (whilst devouring my share) trying to come up with a way to describe this cake and can't come up with anything beyond "mm-mmmm" and "oh my GAWD".  I try my best, but take another bite for possible inspiration and all focus goes out the window. It's a rich chocolate sponge cake (doused in an orange liqueur syrup), layered with chocolate mousse filling and fresh raspberries.  YUM!!  The only thing I might change is I would either add a layer of mashed raspberries to the center or top it off with a light raspberry syrup.  I also saved some of the chocolate mousse filling to affix the raspberries to the top of the cake.  I've included a link below to the recipe and I highly encourage everyone to make this as soon as humanly possible, or otherwise risk perishing without having been able to enjoy this epicurean delight - and trust me, that would be a huge mistake.

Chocolate Genoise Cake Recipe

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The BEST Buttercream Icing:

1 (8 oz) Pkg Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 C Butter, softened

4 C Confectioners Sugar

1 t Vanilla Extract (the REAL stuff!)

Cream together until smooth.  

Tip: I usually set the butter and cream cheese out on the counter when I start making the cake so they have plenty of time to soften.  This makes the ingredients really easy to cream.

To ice the cupcakes pictured below, I used a piping bag (the fancy Ziploc kind of course) and iced an outline circle - leaving about 0.25" spacing from the cupcake edge.  I then just swirled the icing around the cupcake and angled the tip out a little so it pushed the icing more to the edge without pushing it all the way over.  I hope this makes sense...pictures next time if I can!

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Favorite Red Velvet Recipe (used for cupcakes below):

1/2 C Shortening

1 1/2 C White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 T Cocoa

4 T Red Food Coloring

1 t Salt

1 t Vanilla Extract

1 C Buttermilk (I use the cultured poweder fridge mix since I don't use buttermilk that often...keeps well and you just make it when you need it)

2 1/2 C Flour

1 1/2 t Baking Soda

1 T Distilled White Vinegar

Grease two 9" Round pans and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Cream shortening and sugar WELL.  Add eggs and beat well.

Make a past of cocoa and red food coloring.  Add to creamed mixture.

Mix salt, vanilla and buttermilk together.  Add alternately the flour and the milk mixture to the creamed mixture.  

Mix soda and vinegar and FOLD into cake batter.  DO NOT BEAT OR STIR NOW!!!

Bake for 30 mins - toothpick should come out clean when done.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before icing.  Cupcakes generally cook for the same time.

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A slight preface on my baking style that might help you as well:  With few exceptions, I have quit trying to make sure my measurements are 100% precise (which anyone who knows me may be shocked at my lack of perfectionism in that aspect) - I still measure everything out of course, however I find the process of not using a knife edge to get a perfectly precise "1 Cup" of flour every time, freeing if not a little rebellious. I always have music playing when I bake (or do anything, really) and I often find myself performing some extreme version of said music using the nearest spoon or spatula as my microphone while I'm waiting for the timer to go off.  I try to not bake if I'm beyond angry or upset.  I find that my emotions often transfer into the end result so if I'm truly pissed or frantic I could end up with burnt cookies or a flat cake - which tends to just perpetuate the negative emotion.  On the flip side, baking is a definite release for me so if I can't sort out a troubling situation I usually bake to get my mind off things (my mom's chocolate chip cookies are my #1 go-to).  In most recipes, I add slightly more vanilla than what it calls for.  And I NEVER buy imitation vanilla.  Some lesser versions of things are just not the same as their true-blue counterparts (vanilla, mascara, most hair care items, toilet paper, etc.).  Below are some sites I found tonight while looking for new recipes, I'm hoping to have a Chocolate Genoise up here this week...  :)

Joy of Baking: I really like this site because they explain why certain steps are taken.  It goes beyond just blindly following a recipe and thoroughly teaches the techniques.

Epicurious Desserts: HELLO!?  "For people who love to eat"...enough said.

Cake Central: Terrific tutorials for deco, which is something I definitely would like to work on.

All Recipes: This one is a no brainer.  The fact that fellow bakers can post their likes/dislikes/adjustments to the recipes is a huge bonus...however, the pop up ads can be annoying.

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Red Velvet is one of my (and my son's) favorite cake recipes so I figured it was a good way to start this train a'movin. A total classic and the batter is such a rich, decadent color!! Making these tonight really helped clear my head from an insane week, I swear icing these little puppies is pure meditation...ignore the few that are missing...they have nothing to do with my happy vibe. ;) And now I'm ready for a productive weekend!

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