My children’s b-days are both in July. (Actually mine is too, but who’s counting?) There’s always a lot of gatherings and feasts as the various grandparents each come to celebrate. Of course this also means birthday cakes. I’ve talked about my cupcakes and cookies for birthday and my cakes at the half (birthday), but it was time to try someone’s else’s recipe. Luckily we had been to the library and found a really great children’s book called “The Bake Shop Ghost” by Jacqueline K. Oghurn.
It’s the story of a baker named Cora Lee Merriwheather who ran a wonderful bakery and was relied upon by the town for all it’s cakes, pies and pastries. Cora Lee dies and she haunts the bakery; scaring away all the new owners and sending them out the door in hysterics. After the shop sits for years a pastry chef from a cruise ship, Miss. Annie Washington, settles in and has it out with ghost Merriwheather. Annie asks the ghost what she wants and Cora Lee replies “Bake me a cake to fill me up and bring tears to my eyes, a cake like one that I might have baked but that no one ever made for me”. Annie is stumped and makes hundreds of recipes from around the world but can’t please the ghost for over a month. Finally she figures out the thing that Cora Lee never got… a birthday cake with her name on it. The ghost and Annie continue to get along and bake together (unbeknownst to the towns people, of course) , now for the Washington and Merriwheather Bake Shop.
At the end of the book is a recipe for that birthday cake that my kids and I made to celebrate the birthdays. It really is one of the best (for this world and beyond).
Ghost-Pleasing Chocolate Cake
This rich chocolate layer cake would satisfy the hunmgrioest ghost. Is is adapted from my friend Luli Gray, a wionderful writer and baker, from a recipe published in Cook’s Illustrated magazine. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Prepare two 8 or 9 inch round pans or one 13 x 9 inch pan, by lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a Large Bowl Mix Together…
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups ll purpose flour, siften before measuring
3/4 cup cocoa
4 tablespoons buttermilk powder (available in supermarket baking sections)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a Medium Saucepan, melt over low heat (or you can use the microwave)…
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
Remove from Heat and Add…
1 cup water
4 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until blended. Pour evenly into prepared pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven about 30 -40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with moist crumbs gathering to it. Do not overbake. Cool thoroughly on a rack before icing.
Easy Frosting
This frosting can also be tinted with food coloring for decoration or writing.
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/3 cup softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
Combine all ingreidnets in a large bowl and beat until smooth. If using an electric mixer, beat at low speed. Add more sugar for stiffer frosting.
“Happenings of the Harper Household” sent me over!
i love to eat cakes and bake them too that is why i am always on the lookout for cake recipes*;*
Hi, I tried this cake recipe some days ago but somehow couldn’t achieve the same result as you, my cake clearly wasn’t looking that good (atleast it tasted good). What kind of chocolate do you use? Maybe it’s because of the flour I used, so I used tapioca flour instead of normal wheat flour.