Eka Bakie: Indestructible Chocolate Cake

I love baking, especially for others. There is something so satisfying about seeing people enjoy something that I made. It's also nice knowing that I can bake, give my creation away, and not have to worry about those calories finding a new home on my hips.

You can imagine my excitement when my Lala (My sister's sister-in-law. My sister-in-law, in-law. My Lala) asked me to make her wedding cake and cupcakes. 

I'm making a wedding cake & 200 cupcakes!! :D

That excitement brought a friend along for the ride - fear

Holy crap. I'm making a WEDDING CAKE and 200 cupcakes! O.O

Not gonna lie, I peed my pants a little when the weight of producing that volume of cake hit me.

I spent the next few months testing out new recipes, tweaking existing ones, creating my own, and crying. 

This was for a wedding. Weddings, by nature, must be perfect and therefore, so must be the cakes I am baking. Daunting. But as the wedding drew closer I became more confident in my abilities,though a small sense of failure still loomed in the back of my mind. 

The Tuesday before the wedding I packed my bags with all of my equipment and flew from Las Vegas to Utah. Yep, everything but my Kitchen Aid. Wednesday I shopped for ingredients and Thursday, on 3 hours of sleep, I baked all day. And I mean. All. Day. 6AM until well past 6PM. 3-4 batches of 4 different cakes in the kitchen of my parents' house. 

Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate with Raspberry Buttercream 

Vanilla with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Tre Leches with Coconut Cream

And for the main cake, Chocolate with Custard Cream and Berries

The drive to the venue was less than a blur but we made it safely and without casualty. At the venue the hubs and my BFF helped me set up the cupcake display while I fiddled with the main cake. I was (and still kind of am) astonished that everything went off without a hitch. It was, as all weddings should be, perfect. 

Then we went to the ceremony, which was beautiful BTW. 

Then it rained. 

I cried. The bride and groom thought it was romantic, and in hindsight it truly was. I mean, who doesn't dream about being kissed in the rain by their true love. I'm sure it's what Nicholas Sparks' dreams are made of. But in that moment the months of preparation, anxiety, failed batches, 2 days of sleep-deprived baking and frosting that went oh-so smoothly came down to 5 minutes of rain. 

By the grace of God all cupcakes and the main cake itself survived and were enjoyed by all, most importantly by my Lala and her husband. 

I'd like for you to be able to enjoy that cake, too. Here's the recipe for my Indestructible Chocolate Cake:

2 C sugar

1 3/4 C flour

3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder (I prefer Dutch process)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 C milk

1/2 C oil or applesauce

2 tsp vanilla

1 C HOT water

*Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl or that of a Kitchen Aid

*In a separate small bowl or 2C Pyrex, whisk eggs, milk, oil (or applesauce), and vanilla

*Stir wet mixture into dry

*Gently incorporate the hot water into the batter.

*The batter will be THIN

*Divide batter into paper-lined cupcake tins or into two well greased 9" cake pans

*Bake at 350* 

Cupcakes- 15-20 mins. There should be moist crumbs on a toothpick inserted into the center cake

-or-

Cake- 35-40 mins. Toothpick test should render similar results. If it comes out clean, cakes have been over baked.