Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake

When we ran our Bed and Breakfast, the joke was that you left your diet outside the front door and picked it up again when you left.  I can’t get over that habit. Do I want to? Not so much!

You will need:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2  cups sugar
• 3/4 cups Rodelle Baking Powder (any large grocery store)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsps. baking soda
• 1/2 cup Crisco oil
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsps. vanilla extract (or 2 tsps. chocolate flavouring)
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
• 1/4 cup creme de cacao
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbls. icing sugar
• 1 packet of Oetker “WhipIt” (stabilizer for whipping cream)
• 1 1/2 tsp. icing sugar
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom/sides of 2- 9″ round cake pans. Now fit parchment paper circles into pans and butter the paper. Set aside.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and let it simmer. Combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl and beat together with the oil, milk, eggs, vanilla and creme de cacao for two minutes or until smooth. Reduce to low speed and now add 1 cup boiling water. Mix well and divide equally into the cake pans. Bake these for 30-35 minutes and check with a wooden toothpick to ensure it is cooked. Cool for about 10 minutes and unmold, returning to the wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting beat the cream with the Whip It, until light peaks form and add the icing sugar and creme de cacao and beat until a little firmer. Gentley fold in the  remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tbls.  icing sugar and 1 1/2 tbls. baking chocolate.

To assemble: slice each cake in half and place one layer on the serving plate. Spread a layer of frosting on top, sprinkle with 1/4 of the chocolate chips. Repeat with each layer except the top. Ice with the remaining whipping cream and sprinkle the top with “Choca vlokken” which is actually choclate curls. You can, of course, make you own but these work out in a pinch.

Enjoy!