When we were little my sister and I always dreamed about owning a party planning business together. At that point in time, I had already discovered my love of baking and she was the decorative/entertaining genius so our interests complemented each other perfectly. We now live in different cities so the idea of our joint business isn’t really in the cards, but my sister has now found her own spot in the kitchen and it is always fun to see what creative masterpieces she whips up.
This Kit Kat Cake that she surprised me with on my birthday this past week is just one example. She first saw it as an auction item at a fundraiser that she coordinated. She has made it several times since and talks about how easy it is and yet visually it is so striking and elegant. With my addiction to Pinterest I have seen versions of it filled with M&M’s and other candies but I have to say that I love how it looks overflowing with berries. I wish we had pictures of all of the kids sneaking away with the Kit Kat bars and their little hands grabbing all of the berries. Thanks, Linds, for such a happy birthday treat!
{My family loves our chocolate cake with buttercream frosting that has been passed down from my grandma but you can use the cake and frosting of your choice.}
- 2squares unsweetened chocolate
- ½ cup boiling water
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3¾ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2 8- or 9-inch round cakes
- Frosting
- Kit Kat Bars, split into the individual bars
- A ribbon
- Berries, rinsed and dried
- Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts.
- Cream the shortening and the sugar.
- Stir in the eggs and then add the melted chocolate/water mixture.
- Add the flour and baking soda alternately with the buttermilk and vanilla, mixing the ingredients together until a smooth batter forms.
- Pour the batter into 2 greased and floured 8-inch round pans to form a layer cake and bake them for 35 minutes or until done.
- Let the cakes cool in the pan for ten minutes and then slide a knife gently around the edges, invert the pans onto a wire cooling rack and gently tap the bottom of the pans until the cake rounds fall out.
- Mix the ingredients and beat for several minutes until a smooth, creamy frosting forms.
- For chocolate frosting, add ½ cup Hershey cocoa powder.
- Working with cake rounds that have completely cooled, place one round on the serving platter and ice the top and sides.
- Stack the second cake round on top and ice the top and sides so that the cake is completely covered.
- Stick Kit Kat bars into the frosting around the entire outside of the cake, tying the decorative ribbon on the cake to help hold everything in place.
- Pile an assortment of berries onto the top of the cake {or use M&M's or other candies of your choice.}
