Every year my birthday sneaks up on me…I’m sure it’s because I am in denial until the very day and then it’s unavoidable.  Which just so happens to be today.  When did I get this old?  I have kids and they’re how old?  Wow.

But I do have lots to celebrate and thank my lucky stars for, great hubby, amazing kids, awesome family, and friends. The important things in life.

Breaking from the carrot cake tradition, I decided I wanted to bake my own birthday cake.  I found an old friend in New York Times Cooking, a recipe I haven’t made in quite awhile. Decadent Chocolate Cake from my generation’s Joy of Cooking, The Silver Palate.  I remember buying the Silver Palate cookbook back in the day. Attracted by the friendly prose, whimsical drawings, and cooking tips I would pour over the recipes and read every side note.  It served as a primer on ingredients, entertaining and of course great food.  Chicken Marbella, Pumpkin Pie, Blackberry Mousse, Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil and Brie, favorites that have become classics.

The beauty of having a birthday the day before Valentine’s Day…I already have the dessert made.  The recipe for the cake can be found in NYT Cooking.  I replaced some the semisweet chocolate chips in the icing with dark bittersweet chocolate to bump up the chocolate flavor.  The cake itself is sweet and mild (after all the recipe is 30+ years old) so go ahead and add chopped pieces of chocolate or chips to the cake batter before baking to further amp up the chocolate flavor.   Birthday cake calls for a tall glass of icy cold milk but Valentine’s Day calls for champagne, bubbly and romantic.

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Decadent Chocolate Cake

From the Silver Palate Cookbook

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Decadent Chocolate Cake

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 8 T butter 1 stick
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs separated
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups less 2 T all-purpose flour sied
• 1 tsp baking powder

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

• 2 T butter
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 T heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar or as needed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Knock out excess flour. In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the
• chocolate and butter; let stand until melted. Stir in the vanilla and sugar, then whisk in egg yolks one at a time, blending well aer each addition.
• Mix baking soda, and sour cream together and add to chocolate mixture. Si together flour and baking powder; add to batter, mixing thoroughly.
• In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the batter. Scoop remaining egg whites on top of
• batter and gently fold together. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Set in the middle rack of oven and bake 40-50 minutes, or until the edges have
• pulled away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes; unmold and cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

• Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over low heat and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly;
• add more sugar if necessary to achieve a spreading consistency. Spread on cake while frosting is still warm.