For my friend’s 22nd birthday, they had a deep-sea themed party. Guests were dressed in elaborate costumes, dressed as everything from an angler fish to a sardine. Every birthday party I’m invited to, I jump on the opportunity to make the cake. I love experimenting with flavors and decorations; a welcome opportunity to show off the baking skills I acquired over my middle-school baking hyperfixation. Rose and chocolate might sound like a super scary combo, but ask anyone at that party and I bet they would vouch for it. 

Tools:

• Whisk, Hand or Stand Electric Mixer
• Large Bowl
• Oven
• Cake Pans
• Frosting Devices: Spoon and knife, ziplock or piping bag and tip. 

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

• 2 Boxes of Chocolate Cake Mix
• Eggs
• Oil
• Water
• Coffee (instant)

Rose Frosting

• 2 Sticks of Salted Butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Rose Extract 
• Food Dye and Decorations (optional)

Recipe:

Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil two cake pans then dump a tablespoon of flour into it, rotating the pan around until it has coated both the bottom and sides of each pan. This helps your cake come out easily without breakage.
2. Make your chocolate cake mix according to the packaging but instead of water, use coffee by adding a few spoonfuls of instant coffee to your directed measurement of warm water. Adding coffee to chocolate cake intensifies the chocolate flavor. You can’t taste the coffee unless you know it’s there, giving box cake mix the boost it desperately needs. 
3. Pour the batter evenly into two pans and plop them into the oven for however long directed by the box’s directions, checking the cake with a chopstick for doneness.
4. Once your cake is baked, allow it to cool before leveling the top with a knife. Once cooled, get your cakes out of the pans by sliding a knife around the edges, placing a large plate or baking sheet on top, flipping it over, and tapping it out. 

Rose Frosting

Buttercream frosting is a labor of love. There’s really no comparing homemade frosting to store bought. This process is made exponentially easier by using a stand or hand electric mixer. Unfortunately for my friends, I don’t have one, and therefore forced them to take turns helping me whisk the butter by hand. 

1. Begin by beating your butter for about 5 minutes on high speed if you have an electric mixer, or just whisking by hand for eons, until the butter becomes light in color and fluffy. Your butter must be softened to room temperature! Hard or cool butter will not work, neither will melt. 
2. Sift a cup of powdered sugar into the butter and beat again, repeating this step until your frosting is your desired sweetness. I used about 3 cups.
3. Add a teaspoon of both vanilla and rose extract. Beat to incorporate, taste, and add more extract to taste. 
4. Add your desired coloring; In my case, that good Red-40 and Yellow-2, ending up with a coral color. 
5. Stack the cakes with a layer of frosting in between. Frost your cake roughly with a butter knife, angled spatula, or the back of a spoon. Add detail with a piping tip and bag, or by cutting the corner of a ziplock bag. Set your piping bag or ziplock into a tall glass, scooping the frosting into it and tapping the air bubbles out. Decorate your cake as desired. For my friend’s deep-sea party, I made it look like a coral creature with eye details and pearl sprinkles. 

Blow out the candles, slice it up, and share! Happy Birthday Kit!