Chocolate Cake vs. Paper Cake = Kahlua Cake

Nana has a singing birthday card that the girls adore. It features a paper pop-up cake and reminds you not to eat the cake because it’s a “paper caaaaake!” The girls love and have memorized the song. The weeks leading up to Loran’s birthday, the girls fantasized about the cake they would make him. Loran doesn’t even like cake that much, but the girls were set, they were making a chocolate cake. I figured we could spice it up a bit by making a Kahlua Cake.

Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix (without pudding)
1 box (3.75-ounce) instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup Kahlua
1 (6-ounce) package chocolate chips

Put everything in a bowl, except the chocolate chips, mix thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips and put batter in greased Bundt pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Glaze

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. cocoa (I used chocolate chips)
2 tbsp. Kahlua
2 tsp. milk
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Drizzle over cake.

I wanted to use a glaze that would be cooked, since it contained Kahlua and the girls would be partaking in the cake-eating festivities.

The girls helped me prepare the cake mix. Ella had been gunning for egg cracking duty. We’ve been dabbling in egg cracking with mixed results, but now as a big five year old, it was time to take another crack at it…haha…crack…egg…yeah.

Ella confidently took her egg in hand, gently tapped it on the side of the bowl and when that didn’t produce a crack, she did what any respected pastry chef would do, she crushed the entire egg in her hand and threw the entire mess into the bowl, asking for the next egg. I fished out the egg shells (mostly with success) and finished up the other three eggs.

Loran was able to experience a new phenomenon on his January 25th birthday. The air conditioning extinguished one if his candles before he was able to blow it out. Yes. Air conditioning on January 25th. The cake was moist, delicious, and a favorite around the table.

Loran got to celebrate his weekend birthday with a flight. Not on his usual Delta frequent flier status. We got him tickets on a cut-rate airline that has no first class, inflight entertainment, overhead baggage storage or really any perks other than the adorable flight crew. Ella and Lily Airlines took their maiden flight on Loran’s birthday. Born out of a stroller box and my childhood ability of creating amazing structures out of cardboard boxes.

Happy 33 trips around the sun, Loran. Here’s to many more (with fewer egg shells)!