The best cakes & Amazon Associates

I'm trying out a new thing I signed up for, Amazon Associates.  I'm not sure if I like it or if I'm going to keep using it, or where this might lead.  But I wanted to warn you that I'm going to be putting some extra links in this post, and they're all going to amazon.com.  Feel warned.  Because you have been.  So there.

So, I love cake.  Its true.  I also feel very strongly that everyone should have a birthday cake.  And heck, I'd go so far as to make a cake for any situation, should it be requested.  Or at least not turned down.  Truth be told, I would cook/bake for most anyone, if they would supply the ingredients (or not) and clean up afterwards (definitely).  

The other week, before classes let out, I had the chance to make a cake for someone's comprehensive exam (where a graduate student presents their planned dissertation research and gets either "the go-ahead" or the "get more work done" nod).  Not only did I get to prepare a cake for this student, I did it for pay.  Yeah, thats right, I said it.  I'm a professional baker (check the first criteria in the definition).  Of course, making the cake cost me more than I was paid for it, not even counting the time it took me, or the overhead.  But I was paid for it.  Made me happy.  I felt a little twinge of unhappiness later when I found out that one of the people the cake was fed to turned out to be allergic (don't worry, she didn't eat it).  Mostly, I was pleased.  Part of me wanted to frame the $10, but I really needed it for gas money so... practicality wins.

This cake.
It changes lives.

The cake I made was found at SmittenKitchen's website.  This girl has got it going on.  I believed it before I made this cake, but afterwards, I'm in love with her.  Really.  Smitten Kitchen, do you hear me?  This cake made me fall in love with you!  Actually, I'm not in love with Deb; I'm in love with this cake.  The things I wanted to do to this cake, well, the church won't recognize (marry it, duh.  what were you thinking?).  I often throw too many words at a thing, and so let me state this plainly.

THIS.CAKE.IS.DELICIOUS.

If you can't tell, I'm in dire need of a cake stand.

Its a sour cream chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese icing, topped off with a peanut butter chocolate ganache.  I know, it sounds good there, but please, PLEASE, try it.  Whip it up and then eat some.  And then eat some more.  Then eat it all and ask for forgiveness.  Then make another, share it with your worst enemy, and be happy because you have a new best friend.  Really, this cake can change the world.  

The recipe makes a 3-layer cake, but the person who requested the cake definitively did not want a 3-layer cake; only 2.  I can't explain why mathematicians want the things they want, they just do.  So with the extra batter, I used some little ramekins and pulled together this little sweet heart.  There was less ganache, and I found that the cake did not suffer for it.  Honestly, I don't know what the rules are for ganache, but I'd like to see it a little less thick, little more runny.  

This cake is R-I-C-H rich.
As in, I shared this little gem with 8 other people, and that was enough.
Sure, I could have eaten more, but I was satisfied (enough).

Tonight, I had planned on getting out my kitchen aid and throwing together a version of a new cake from the Brown-eyed Baker, a Root Beer Float Cake.  Except I'm going to throw a little twist in there for the pleasure of my wonderful husband, and make a Cheerwine Float Cake.  I'm really hoping it turns out.  The root beer recipe says very plainly "do not use diet root beer", and all I have in the house is diet Cheerwine, so I'm going to wait for another day to pull this one off, as I want to do it as well as possible.  But I'm excited, and I'm thinking you should be too.  If you beat me to it and make this cake before I put it on here, puhlease tell me all about it.  And you know, you know I'll tell you about it.

Talking myself out of running to the grocery store tonight,

TFW