When I asked soon-to-be 12 year old Ryann what kind of birthday cake she wanted she said, "Either a cookie cake or a chocolate cake". After deliberating which to make, I settled on both! I topped a chocolate-chip cookie cake with a rich chocolate cake, topped it all with chocolate butter cream frosting and, of course, birthday candles!

Unlike my friend Marianne Getz (Wolfgang Puck's pastry chef), I am NOT a good baker. However, I believe that Birthday Cakes should be made at home, with love, rather than store bought so...I made it myself...using mixes! Plus, rather than wasting $3.99 on the pre-made decorative colored frosting, I spent $.99 on white frosting and improvised. Unless you are really getting fancy, you can do it my way by using the vanilla frosting, food coloring, convection sugar...and a baggie!

Here's what to buy:

1 Krusteaz Chocolate Chunk cookie mix

1 Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake Mix

2 large tubs Betty Crocker Rich and Chocolate Buttercream-Style Icing

1 regular tub Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy Vanilla Frosting

All ingredients to make the cookie and the cake mix; eggs, oil, etc.

1/4 Cup confectioners sugar

food coloring for decorative writing and edging.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees and grease the bottom of two 11 x 13 non-stick pans.

Make the cookie dough according to the box directions and spoon into the pan. Wetting your hands with tap water, flatten the dough evenly across the bottom of the pan. Put into the preheated oven.

Make the cake mix according to the package directions and pour into the other prepared pan.

Bake the cookies for 18 minutes or until it is lightly golden. Take the cookies out and put the cake in. Let the cookies cool in the pan for 15 minutes before carefully flipping onto a cake platter.

Bake cake for the length of time directed on the box or until the sides are just beginning to pull away from the walls of the pan. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan until just barely warm. Use a long bakers spatula, or other long flat tool, to loosen the cake from the pan so as not to break it when removing.

When the cookie cake is cool, but before you place the chocolate cake on top, frost it with 1/2 of one tub of the Chocolate Butter Cream Icing. Carefully place the almost-cool chocolate cake on top and let cool completely. Use the remaining icing to cover the top and sides of the cake; I actually had about 1/3 of a container leftover but use as much as you desire.

To decorate the cake, first decide how many colors you will use and them divide the tubs of frosting into separate bowls to accomodate each color. Blend the frosting with the confectioners sugar; I used 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar to 1/2 of the tub of frosting but adjust as need to make the frosting thick but still moist and spreadable. Add a few drops of food coloring, if desired, and mix well.

Using a pint-size freezer bag, spoon the frosting into one corner and then barely snip off the tip of the bag. The bigger the opening, the more frosting comes out so I recommend starting small, practice on a plate or napkin and trim as needed to get the correct amount of frosting to write smoothly. Later, cut the opening bigger to do the sides, edges or accents.

Again...I'm no Marianne Getz but hey, it's a 12-year-old's birthday! My cake was yummy and brought big smiles and full mouths saying... Best. Birthday Cake. Ever. That's all I need!

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READ MORE - When I asked soon-to-be 12 year old Ryann what kind of birthday cake she wanted she said, "Either a cookie cake or a chocolate cake". After deliberating which to make, I settled on both! I topped a chocolate-chip cookie cake with a rich chocolate cake, topped it all with chocolate butter cream frosting and, of course, birthday candles!

Kids of all ages love chocolate cakes. If you bake one for the first birthday of your child, you will definitely get the reward for being star mom in the form of lots of hugs and kisses from the children at the birthday party. Here is a simple first birthday cake recipes with delicious chocolate frosting.

Items needed for the chocolate cake recipe and frosting:

Cake:

Cocoa powder - 1 cup

Boiling hot water - 2 cups

Soft and unsalted butter at room temperature - 1 cup

Sugar - 2 cups

Eggs - 4

All-purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking soda - 2 teaspoons

A pinch of salt

Vanilla extract or essence - 1 teaspoons

Frosting:

1 packet of semi sweet chocolate chips

cup of half and half cream (you can use full cream too, but add some milk to it)

cup of unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups of icing sugar

For decoration:

Mixed fruit jam - 1 cup

Edible silver balls - 1 packet

Colorful chocolate gems - 1 packet

Preparing the cake:

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a deep bowl.

Add the butter and whisk some more to get a fluffy texture.

Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Dissolve the cocoa powder in boiling hot water and let the mix cool.

Add this mix to the butter-egg mix and whisk some more to get a smooth batter.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.

Now add the dry ingredients to the prepared mix, spoon by spoon, and whisk some more to get the cake batter to dropping consistency.

Grease a 9 inch baking pan and pour the batter in the pan.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 35-40 minutes.

After the baking time, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

Preparing the frosting:

On a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and butter.

Remove from heat and stir in the cream and icing sugar.

Whisk to combine well and your chocolate frosting is ready.

Assembling the cake:

Let the cake cool completely before assembling.

Cut the cake in the middle horizontally.

Place the bottom layer on a serving plate.

Spread a generous amount of frosting over the layer and cover with the top layer.

Spread the rest of the frosting on the cake and cover all the sides.

Put the mixed fruit jam in a piping bag and decorate the top and sides of the cake in any design you like.

Use the silver balls and chocolate gems to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Put the prepared cake in the fridge for 2 hours to let everything set before serving.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

READ MORE - Kids of all ages love chocolate cakes. If you bake one for the first birthday of your child, you will definitely get the reward for being star mom in the form of lots of hugs and kisses from the children at the birthday party. Here is a simple first birthday cake recipes with delicious chocolate frosting.