All cakes should be homemade. If the frosting is messy (or there’s no frosting at all), I don’t care. If a big chunk falls off when you’re plating it, oops! But cakes are special. They mark important events, and when I get a homemade cake, in all its non-professional, crumb-riddled glory, I know that someone cares. Apparently, I’m in good company.
So when I heard that a friend and coworker was leaving my office to go back to school, I had to send her off with a homemade cake. I started with a flourless chocolate cake from the Gourmet Cookbook that’s incredibly easy to throw together. Then I spread on a layer of peanut butter frosting, and topped it all with a coat of dark chocolate ganache and some almond bark.
I’m not a cake decorator. Hell, I don’t even have a cake platter. But despite many superficial flaws, this cake is the most decadent, luscious chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. It put a smile on everyone’s face. And nobody cared that it looked funny. Because I’m not a professional baker, and this cake was homemade.
