Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and Spiced Yogurt Pound Cake

The making of this cake reminded me of the story of the Ugly Duckling.

The Spiced Yogurt Pound Cake was awful to make (1 cup butter = 225grams and 325F = 160C). It would have been fine if I had electric beaters or a mix master. But I don't have one (though now I want one more than ever!) I just have a stick blender with some attatchments, which works fine for just about everything I usually make. Anyway, because of the huge amound of butter and sugar that need creaming, it was really difficult. I ended up putting it in a tall jug (the yellow one that used to belong to you, M) and used the whisk attatchment on the stick blender to "cream it". Beating the whole mixture was pretty much impossible and very messy. I have pretty much cleaned my carpet now though :)

I had to use my 25cm springform tin to cook it in, which was fine, but after following the instructions and greasing and flouring the tin the cake was stuck to the bottom after being cooked!!! Well, I was in despair and thought I would have to make another cake, but it eventually come off - though there was a fault line running through the middle!

Here is the brute after being seperated from the tin:Hmmm, bit UGLY!!! (btw that is the bottom of the cake - the top is prettier!) So I went on the search for "fluffy" Chocolate Frosting! Why? To give the cake a bit more height. It looked a bit short, especially on that huge platter :) I eventually found the perfect recipe, and I had all the ingredients. Yay! This is one frosting I will be making again. Here is the cake after it has been frosted: Much better, don't you think?? And a little decoration: It really is true that icing can fix anything (particularly if it is chocolate icing)! I was a bit worried the person I made the cake for would think the petal girl was a present, and wondered if I should announce that "The girl is not a present" as soon as the person saw the cake, but I didn't and the girl is still mine... (she was a present from my mum, so it is not like I am just really greedy and possessive).

Anyway. The cake, despite being horrible for me to make, was really delicious, and once I get some electric beaters I think I will make it again.

Here is the recipe for the frosting (which I originally found here) with a couple of little adjustments (i.e. weight conversions):

110 grams butter, softened
2 2/3 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup milk/half-and-half/unwhipped whipping cream (I used milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

With either 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (for light choc flavour)
OR 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (medium)
OR 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (dark rich)
(I used between 1/3 and 1/2 cup. Result? Choc-a-licious!!)

1. Cream butter.
2. Blend in cocoa, icing sugar and vanilla, alternating with the milk.
3. Beat until desired texture is reached.

This recipe makes a quite a lot, but apparently it freezes well. I think I have enough left over from the cake to ice a bunch of muffins. But first I need to make some muffins!