Enjoying a friend's baking: Volcano cake.

Tomorrow is my little buddy Jethro's 4th birthday. I can't believe he is growing up so fast! So instead of cooking or baking today, i went to his house where his Mommy made the coolest cake ever, a Volcano Cake! Check out these pictures!

Decorated, ready for the candle! 

A birthday ROAR!

She used a regular chocolate cake, but baked it in an angel food cake pan, did a bit of carving and filled the center with cherry pie filling, yummy! The icing was whipped cream with chocolate. I think it turned out delicious, and looked really neat! It was decorated with toy dinosaurs.

Jethro's Mommy is super creative and i had lots of fun at his party; i can't wait for my birthday, i know who's baking!! :-)

This is the recipe she sent me that was used:

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

·         2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour X2

·         2 cups white sugar X2

·         3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder X2

·         1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder X2

·         3/4 teaspoon baking soda X2

·         3/4 teaspoon salt X2

·         3 eggs X2

·         1 cup milk X2

·         1/2 cup vegetable oil X2

·         1 tablespoon vanilla extract X2

·         2 (20 ounce) cans pitted sour cherries

·         1 cup white sugar

·         1/4 cup cornstarch

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         3 cups heavy whipping cream

·         1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

·         cocoa powder for colour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour angel food cake pan, cover bottoms with waxed paper.
2. Drain 2 – 20 oz cans pitted sour cherries, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Combine reserved juice, cherries, 1 cup sugar and ¼ cup cornstarch in a 2 quart saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool before using. Place aside (or use can of cherry pie filling)
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 1h30 minutes(approx), or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire racks 10 minutes. Loosen edges, and remove to racks to cool completely.
4. Combine whipping cream, cocoa powder for colour and confectioner's sugar in a chilled medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
5. Place cake on cake plate. See if the hole is big enough for volcano, if not cut the hole bigger if need be, set aside pieces for later. Gently brush loose crumbs off top and side of cake.  Cover sides of cake with whipped cream, place in the center the cherry mixture, put whipping cream on top to cover cherries. Pray all of this works!