Chocolate Birthday Cake with Seafoam Icing
 
Cook time
Total time
 
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Ingredients
Cake:
  • 2 square semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 egg
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 2 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or soured milk made by adding 1 tsp of vinegar to 1/2 cup milk
Seafoam Icing:
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup hot water
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Cake:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350C.
  2. Prepare two round cake tins by buttering. Measure two waxed paper rounds by tracing around the pan with a knife or scissors. Push into the bottom of the tins. Then butter the waxed paper bottoms. Sprinkle a heaping spoonful of flour in and shake to coat. Bang excess flour out.
  3. In a microwave safe 2 cup measuring cup, add the chocolate, shortening and hot water. Microwave in small bursts of 15 seconds, stirring frequently, just until the chocolate is melted. It may not look completely blended, but that won't matter as long as everything is melted.
  4. Meanwhile, in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whisk the eggs until foamy. Blend in the sugar. Add in the remaining ingredients in order, mix, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula now and then.
  5. Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Seafoam Icing:
  1. Combine the first three ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook until a small amount poured into a cup of cold water makes long “threads”.
  2. Meanwhile, beat 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  3. Keeping the mixer beating on a medium speed, add the hot syrup very slowly. Do not scrape down the sides of pan or bowl as this adds grainy crystals to the icing.
  4. Beat until stiff peaks form again and then beat in 1 tsp vanilla.
  5. Ice the cooled cake.
Notes
When halving the seafoam icing recipe, just use two eggs and half of the remaining ingredients.

I make the cake layers a day or two in advance, cool, wrap with saran wrap or tuck separately into ziplock bags and freeze. On the day of the event, I take them out in the afternoon while making the frosting. It's easier to frost frozen cake layers.
Recipe by Just a Smidgen at https://justasmidgen.com/2014/11/05/fall-decorating-ideas/