Anniversary Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

I've been married to my love for 6 years! So I made a homemade chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and it was oh so good... I have been seeing a lot of 'deconstructed' cakes on my Pinterest feed so I thought I'd try my hand at making one. It was very easy, and I think it helped that the frosting was pretty thick. I used an icing spatula, which allowed me to get the frosting smooth (like at a bakery) then once the spaces between the cake layers were filled, I just scraped some of the frosting away to expose the cake underneath - alas, you have a deconstructed cake! I melted some chocolate chips and dipped some strawberries for the top of the cake and ordered a gold glitter "Love" cake topper off Etsy to complete my Anniversary cake. And let me tell you... the leftovers are still just as good to eat the next day!

Chocolate Cake

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 cups sugar

- 3/4 cup cocoa powder

- 2 tsp. baking powder

- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. espresso powder, I used finely ground coffee

- 1 cup milk

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- 2 eggs

- 2 tsp. vanilla

- 1 cup boiling water

1. Mix your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, together in your Kitchenaid Mixer.

2. Slowly add your milk, vegetable oil, 2 eggs (one at a time) and vanilla to your dry ingredients. 

3. Slowly add your boiling water and beat batter on medium for 1 minute. This will thin your batter.

4. Line the bottom of your cake pans with parchment paper and grease them. Divide your cake into thirds or halves in your cake pans, I made 3 layers. 

5. Bake cake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

6. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

- 5 cups powdered sugar

- 2 tsp. vanilla

- 1/4 cup milk

1. Beat your butter with whisk attachment in Kitchenaid Mixer until fluffy.

2. Slowly add your powdered sugar. The mixture will get very crumbly.

3. Add your vanilla and milk and mix until desired consistency. 

 Deconstructed Cake

I love you as much as chocolate cake... <3

Enjoy!

Brittney

Garlic Parmesan Wings

I bought some baby chicken drumsticks to make with this recipe and it turned out so well! I plan to make it with wings for our next party. The key was using the broiler at the end to get the chicken crispy without frying. I dipped mine in ranch dressing but I don't think you need to dip them into anything. Kid-friendly!

Garlic Parmesan Wings

- 2 dozen chicken wings
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 1 tbsp. garlic
- 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Season your wings/drumsticks with salt and pepper and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
3. In a saucepan heat your butter and olive oil until butter has melts. Whisk in parsley, garlic and salt. Heat on low.
4. Turn broiler on after you take wings out of the oven and drain the excess liquids. Broil wings for 10 minutes. Flip wings over and broil for 10 more minutes.
5. Place wings in a bowl and pour sauce on top. Add parmesan cheese and toss wings to coat.

 Garlic parmesan sauce

Garlic and Parmesan Wings/Drumsticks

Enjoy!

Brittney