I hope you’ve had a love filled day. Whether that’s with a loving partner, a friend or your family ❤️
My day started with a beautiful card (I nearly cried reading the verses!) flowers and chocolates 💕
I had tried unsuccessfully to find a card that said what I wanted to say, so I made one instead 😀
And then obviously I made a cake. And no sooner did I pronounce it finished, we cut into it…..it looked so yummy 😋
But I didn’t get a picture first! So I made do with an ‘after picture’. While I was cropping it on Photo Director, I found a sticker that probably sums us up…..greedy little piggies that we are……so I used it to cover up the sticky (but yummy) blob of ganache I had used to secure the cake to the board lol 😝 
So, as you can see, it was a chocolate cake. It’s the most wonderful soft moist texture, and the recipe comes together really easily. It’s just two layers with ganache and sliced strawberries in between. Then a generous coating on the top and sides. I used a cake comb on the sides, and white chocolate shavings, milk chocolate curls, and halved strawberries to decorate. Simple but heavenly!
This weekend our daughter and her boyfriend who went to teach in Romania last August, are back for a few days 😍 so we are having a family get together on Sunday. I can’t wait to see them, and maybe make plans to visit them soon! I haven’t been outside the UK since my accident in 2012, but when Katie went to work in Romania last year, we renewed our passports. They plan to work abroad for at least three years, so a visit in the near future is top of my ‘to do’ list!
Well my lovelies, I shall leave you for now
Stay safe and healthy
Debbie ❤️
Chocolate cake recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, two – 9 inch (23 cm) cake pans*. Then line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. * I used this mixture to make two – 6 inch layers, and two – 5 inch layers as I was making two smaller cakes.
Ingredients:
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-processed)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup (240 ml) warm water or coffee
1 cup (240 ml) milk
1/2 cup (120 ml) corn, vegetable, safflower or canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water (or coffee), milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. (The batter will be quite thin.) Evenly divide the batter between the two pans and bake for about 27 – 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake just comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the cakes from their pans and cool completely on a greased wire rack before frosting.
Ganache:
400g milk chocolate
200g dark chocolate
25g Butter (optional)
250ml double cream (heavy cream)
Melt everything together over a double boiler. Leave to cool and thicken before using to fill and frost the cake. The strawberries are an optional addition, you can decorate the cake anyway you like, it’s very versatile.
Have fun!
Baking for Therapy 