I had a birthday cake to make last night…and it was sort of a last minute thing.  I was invited to a friend’s house for dinner, and it happens to be his birthday, and there are only going to be three people there…so I thought I’d make a little cake.  Here’s the thing…almost no ingredients in the house.  I had less than two sticks of butter, I had some sugar, all purpose flour, sour cream, a little cocoa powder…some chocolate, but just scraps, and little bits of everything.  I had one egg, and two egg whites left over in a container. (I really need to do some shopping LOL).  Anyway, I thumbed through the cake bible to see what I could come up with to make this work.

Anyway, I did one 7” layer of the all american chocolate butter cake.  I split the layer and filled it with chocolate sour cream ganache, iced it with 1/4 recipe of white chocolate mousseline, and piped the decoration with a little of the left over ganache.  What will it taste like, with these two frostings?  I’ll let you know when I taste it…LOL.  I also must confess, that the cake baked up kind of short…so splitting it and filling it with ganache is sort of making a cake that is more icing than cake.  Not necessarily a bad thing as far as I’m concerned.

Really cute cake Bill!

I think ANYONE would be pleased to have a cake like that presented to them on their birthday!  How lovely!

What a lovely cake!  I’m sure your friend appreciated not only the cake, but the thought and the love that went into it!

I absolutely love your creativity and resourcesfulness in coming up with something to bake with limited amounts on hand.  It is one of the things you all have taught me through this forum.  Nothing has to go to waste.  Such a pretty cake as usual for you.

Beautiful!  How wonderful…and so thoughtful, too!

It’s even cuter when small… like the others, I also love that you made something with what was available.  Sometimes I plan a project solely with the purpose of using up as many things in my freezer as possible.

Well…the cake has been boxed up and in my fridge for the 24 hours…we are eating it tonight.  I’m a little concerned about the tang of the chocolate sourcream ganache mixing with the sweetness of the white chocolate mousseline…but we’ll see how it comes off.  I did find the sourcream ganache a little too bitter and very soft…so I added the last tiny bit of white chocolate that I had left over and it was perfect. 

I will report back tomorrow on the taste.  Thanks so much for all your compliments ... I’ve certainly made prettier cakes, but it was 3 AM when I took out the pastry bag…and well…it will have to do.

You are so creative and flexible. I know the cake is fabulous and that the recipient will be very happy!

We just ate the cake.  It was a success!  The three of us ate nearly the whole thing!  Thanks for all your kind compliments

Well, you’ll surely be getting a better night’s sleep tonight than the night you baked—being all full of that beautiful and delicious cake!

Congratulations!  I’m sure your friends will remember this birthday with extra fondness!

What a lovely ending to a lovely story - a surprise birthday cake, friends gathering, and your own sense of personal happiness.  Sleep well.

Just a little footnote…a pic of the event!

LOL And how did the dog like the cake? 

Oh Bill that picture is too much! Very funny! And the cake is supercute. Great job in using up what you had instead of running out and getting something new. Don’t ask me how often I look on the page for egg yolk / egg white uses so that I can use up the leftovers I have!

Rocco didn’t get any cake…his dad is very strict about the “no table food” rule LOL.  (Quite frankly, I don’t think he was interested).