Is It Friday Yet?

The trouble with going anywhere with BJ is that I need a week to recover from a weekend away. The kids have finally calmed down, thankfully, and are back to mostly-normal (or as normal as we get around here, anyways). I posted on Facebook yesterday that Claire had colored herself with an orange marker, all over her face, and looked like an Oompa Loompa - sorry Facebook, but I didn't get a picture. I did get a picture of MG, though. She followed suit with stamps:


Maybe I need to start, oh, I don't know, paying attention to my kids?

I also got a picture of BJ's birthday cake, the recipe for which I will now share because I love you and I want you to be happy...

Cherry Cordial Cake

cake:
1 dark chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1 can cherry pie filling1 tsp almond extract

filling:
1 brick of cream cheese
3 T powdered sugar

glaze:
5 T butter
1 C sugar
1/3 C milk
1 C chocolate chips

Mix the cake ingredients together by hand (or you'll break all your cherries) and bake in two 8 or 9" springform-style pans until done (about 27 minutes for 9" at 350 - follow the instructions on your cake mix). Cool completely.

In a mixer, combine the filling ingredients and whip the heck out of them until fluffy.

Unmold the bottom layer of cake onto your cake plate (off center, if you want to be just like me!), then top it with the cream cheese mixture and spread flat (don't sweat the crumbs). Unmold the top layer of the cake onto the top of the filling.

Next, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the milk and sugar, and boil for a couple of minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved (I screwed this up, and our glaze was grainy). When the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add the chocolate chips, stirring constantly to melt. Let it cool for a couple of minutes, otherwise your cake will be swimming in a puddle of glaze, like mine. Once it's cooler (so it's not completely runny), pour the glaze over the top of the cake. Chill until ready to serve.

Decorate poorly:


I suck at writing with icing. I wish I could type the tops of cakes. I started too low so I had to write his name above the "Happy Birthday" - duh!! And the whip cream was to hide the part where the glaze was too runny. *sigh* I probably could've left his name off - after all, it's not like we were going to forget whose birthday it was!!

The recipe was loosely based on the chocolate covered cherry cake recipe from The Cake Doctor, but I totally thought up the filling on my own. The tartness of the cream cheese was a nice contrast to the richness of the cake. I think I'd switch up the glaze next time, because I didn't love it. Maybe I need a ganash. Mimi's birthday is coming up - I'll experiment then. I can also practice my icingmanship.

So, the status here is Messy. How is it with you?