triple chocolate

Matt's grandmother's birthday sometimes falls around Easter and this year was no exception.  We combined Easter and her birthday celebration so when I was asked to make a dessert for the holiday this came to mind.  A simple chocolate cake that can be dressed up in so many different ways.

{the birthday girl as we sang Happy Birthday}

I chose to bake the cake in three layers because I think layer cakes always make a statement, especially when they're elevated on a cake platter and especially when it's a scalloped one.  Let's face it, though, layer cakes are great because you can cut yourself a fairly skinny slice and still have lots of cake to eat.  And lots of frosting, too, let's not forget that.

The frosting recipe is my friend Ari's - if you would like to recreate it, here are her words: "I definitely started with two sticks of room temperature butter and 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar. After that, give or take a little, I added about 1/4 cup sifted cocoa, 1/4 cup of nutella, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3-1/2 cup of peanut butter. You really can't go wrong after you have the butter/sugar base. Perhaps I intentionally didn't write down the recipe so I can always taste as I go!"

I wish I had a piece of this in my fridge right now because I would eat it for breakfast.  Or I could just whip up a batch of frosting and have that instead.  I seem to have lost my senses...