Chocolate Freak Out... for my 100th Post!

I made it to 100 posts. I figure that's some sort of milestone that should be celebrated in one way or another, right?

Cake is always a good choice for celebrating. I actually brought this cake to my In-Law's house since they were hosting a little family barbecue. And yes, it's really called, "Chocolate Freak Out."

The recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbook authors: Diane Rossen Worthington- in an older cookbook called, The California Cook. Everything I've tried from this cookbook author has been excellent.

I knew I wanted to make a simple pale-pink tinted whipped cream topping for this cake (mother-in-law's favorite color is pink), but I had to get creative with making it pretty. I saw this method for making cute things to top cupcakes on Bakerella's blog, and I thought I'd try it for my Freak Out Cake. I drew a little flower on red paper and then slipped it under some waxed paper to use as a tracing piece for my melted chocolate wafers.

Melted white chocolate wafers were drizzled into the centers of the flowers, and tinted pink chocolate was used for the petals.

Here are some of the completed chocolate flowers.

And when they're dry, you flip them over, and they're nice and flat and pretty (and a bit whimsical- looking.)

The cake recipe is very different than a typical chocolate cake. Made in a springform pan, this one falls somewhere between a cake, a torte and a cheesecake. I made this one day and then wrapped and refrigerated it overnight. The next day, the cake seemed hard as a rock. Literally. I was a bit worried. But I trudged forth and decorated anyways. I told the family that there was a chance that we wouldn't be having dessert.


All the worrying was for naught. It softened up slightly after about 20 minutes at room temperature. This was a chocolate lover's dream. A little slice was completely satisfying. I took only a couple of bites, and left all the remaining slices behind... since I'm watching my behind.

*Note... the cake may also be covered with a simple sprinkle of powdered sugar or you can really freak it out with a layer of rich ganache.

This cake recipe can be found HERE.