Voting and Cake. (One does not necessarily lead to the other, unfortunately.)
Round Three voting is open at drabble_las - there's only 18 drabbles this week, which you can find here. A very wide range of subjects this time around: Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Batman, Brokeback Mountain - heck, even the Pixar movie Wall-e is represented. There's also three original drabbles at the end. Read, vote, etc.
Yes, I did manage to finish a drabble and send it in. I'm just as shocked as the next person. We'll see how it fares.
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In other news....I've been having horrific chocolate cake cravings the last few months, and finally gave in and made one. I also decided to get adventurous, and instead of your normal chocolate cake (well, my normal chocolate cake, which is three layers and a plain butter-based frosting), I decided to get fancy.
Feast your eyes, since your computer is presumably not edible, on a six-layer chocolate cake with chocolate custard filling and fudge frosting.
Seriously Awesome Cake
The cake recipe is here. It's from Bill's dad, and is possibly the easiest cake recipe I've ever seen - even easier than box cake, no joke. The chocolate custard is from The Joy of Cooking and was remarkably quick and easy - I made it, nearly from start to finish, while Andrew was eating dinner.
The frosting is a cooked one, which makes it a little more difficult, but it's fantastic and rich and soft, and can double as a fudge sauce if you heat it up a little. (It also pours easily in a semi-cooled state, if you're going for that sort of look.) I found it in one of those free magazines you sometimes get in the mail ("Cuisine at Home", but this was the only recipe I thought worth trying), and I love it so much, I'll share it here.
Very Easy Fudge Frosting/Sauce
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar, cocoa and salt. The mixture will be very grainy and thick.
2. Whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream, and coffee until smooth. Gradually add to the chocolate mixture - I usually go in four stage. Take it slow, or the chocolate will seize, and you will be most unhappy, as well as frosting-less. Continue stirring the frosting until the sugar has melted and is hot to the touch. Do not boil!
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. You can now let it cool until it's spreadable. I've found this can take anywhere from half an hour to a full two hours, depending on how thick you want it. For pouring, go about 45 minutes. To actually spread, you'll definitely want to wait the 2 hours. You can also put it in the fridge to let it chill, but you may want to hit it in the microwave to soften it back up again.
Yes, I did manage to finish a drabble and send it in. I'm just as shocked as the next person. We'll see how it fares.
*
In other news....I've been having horrific chocolate cake cravings the last few months, and finally gave in and made one. I also decided to get adventurous, and instead of your normal chocolate cake (well, my normal chocolate cake, which is three layers and a plain butter-based frosting), I decided to get fancy.
Feast your eyes, since your computer is presumably not edible, on a six-layer chocolate cake with chocolate custard filling and fudge frosting.
Seriously Awesome Cake
The cake recipe is here. It's from Bill's dad, and is possibly the easiest cake recipe I've ever seen - even easier than box cake, no joke. The chocolate custard is from The Joy of Cooking and was remarkably quick and easy - I made it, nearly from start to finish, while Andrew was eating dinner.
The frosting is a cooked one, which makes it a little more difficult, but it's fantastic and rich and soft, and can double as a fudge sauce if you heat it up a little. (It also pours easily in a semi-cooled state, if you're going for that sort of look.) I found it in one of those free magazines you sometimes get in the mail ("Cuisine at Home", but this was the only recipe I thought worth trying), and I love it so much, I'll share it here.
Very Easy Fudge Frosting/Sauce
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar, cocoa and salt. The mixture will be very grainy and thick.
2. Whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream, and coffee until smooth. Gradually add to the chocolate mixture - I usually go in four stage. Take it slow, or the chocolate will seize, and you will be most unhappy, as well as frosting-less. Continue stirring the frosting until the sugar has melted and is hot to the touch. Do not boil!
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. You can now let it cool until it's spreadable. I've found this can take anywhere from half an hour to a full two hours, depending on how thick you want it. For pouring, go about 45 minutes. To actually spread, you'll definitely want to wait the 2 hours. You can also put it in the fridge to let it chill, but you may want to hit it in the microwave to soften it back up again.