It seems that all of the delights of the holidays that we consumed are past memories — or are they? Do you know that Monday is Chocolate Cake Day?
Oh, I especially love this day, even though I eat anything chocolate all year round. I have an affinity for dark chocolate especially! How about you? So in case you needed a reason to continue indulging, why not celebrate this unusual holiday with chocolate cake. There are three aspects in doing so, however: baking the cake, decorating the cake, and, of course, eating the cake.
The Bartholomew County Public Library has just what you need to do it all.
If you need some help baking a chocolate cake, we have some wonderful books right at your fingertips. "The Big Book of Cakes" by Betty Crocker has some wonderful recipes for cakes of all kinds, not just chocolate. The recipe Bittersweet Baby Cakes includes another one of my favorite flavors: coffee.
Chocolate cake and coffee — nothing wrong there. If you are still struggling with an idea for a recipe then grab the book, "The Chocolate Cookbook" by Christine McFadden and Christine France. There is an abundance of irresistible recipes for chocolate cakes and other mouth-watering delights that are bound to please anyone. I am planning to bake the Marbled Swiss Roll, a light chocolate sponge cake surrounded by a walnut buttercream icing.
I might be selfish with this delectable creation!
After finding the right chocolate cake recipe, it can be fun to decorate it with an eye-pleasing sort of panache. This is where the book "The Complete Photo Guide to Cake Decorating" by Autumn Carpenter becomes a very useful guide. It is packed with photographs of hundreds of different cake decorating ideas with step-by-step instructions.
Another book, "Chocolate Chill-Out Cake and other Yummy Desserts" by Nick Fauchald, is filled with decorating and baking ideas for the smaller chef in your life. The title says it all. Why not chill-out with a chocolate cake?
For those of you who just enjoy eating all of those delectable chocolate goodies, why not savor and enjoy each tasty bite as you read a book like "Dying for Chocolate" by Diane Mott Davidson? A woman named Goldy Bear is a caterer and investigates murders. Doesn’t that sound intriguing? If that doesn’t quite suit your taste, then maybe "Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake" by Sarah Graves will. This book is the first in a series that centers around a bake shop in Maine called The Chocolate Moose.
So however you decide to celebrate Chocolate Cake Day by baking, decorating or tasting one of the many tantalizing chocolate delights found within the many books at our library, remember what Queen Marie Antoinette said: Let them eat cake.
