As promised, here is the recipe for the chocolate cake that I baked for my mother-in-law’s birthday.

You will need:

How to do it:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the pan. I used a 10-in round pan and a heart-shaped pan.
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 1 minute on medium speed of mixer. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with water to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
4. Frost with the buttercream icing.

For the buttercream, you will need 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of shortening, 4 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar, 2 TBSP milk, and 1 tsp vanilla. First, you cream the butter and shortening together using an electric mixer. Add the the vanilla. Then gradually add the sugar one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Then add the milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

To color the buttercream icing, I used Wilton’s yellow, green, and red food colors, which my sister sent me from US. But you can also use the local ones. You will also need different decorating bags and decorating tips.

Here’s what the cakes looked-like without the icing on it….

…..with the plain icing as base
….and the final product….

What a success! This is my first time to design a cake using several colors. This is something different from my usual baking sessions, because I usually bake brownies, muffins, and chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting. I have also tried decorating cupcakes for my son’s 1st birthday and it was also a success. But, I think I still have to master the art of cake decorating. Maybe someday I’ll attend a cake decorating class, if the “budget” permits. hehehe (Medyo mahal kasi eh) Besides, I just finished attending a 3-day basic culinary class last June to enhance my cooking skills….hehe…

My 1-yr old son also participated in this baking session. Look how he enjoyed it….

Again, that’s it for now. Andre wants to play with me. See you on my next baking session. Ciao!