Chocolate Moist Cake with Vanilla Icing

Also known as the heart-shaped man-cake. My dad turned 51 today. I promised that I would make something appropriately birthdayish to bring to work. Last night, I conked out while reading at 7:30 pm. I woke up at 4 am the next day, realized that I had made NOTHING and that I had 3 hours to make something great.

I deserted my fiancé on Skype and ran to the kitchen, wondering if I should make something new and unique or just trust older recipes. I did both, sort of. I used my mother’s trusty chocolate moist cake recipe, added a caramel glaze center and marshmallow vanilla icing. Having a n00b kitchen meant that I had to improvise on borrowed portions of the recipe.

By the time my dad woke up, I was assembling the cake. He had my grandparents on Skype. It was noon in the Philippines and we talked as I worked. (Grandma Emma: “It looks too sweet. Aren’t you putting too much almonds?”)

The end result was a pretty, two-layer, heart-shaped cake placed in the tackiest flowered tray I could find. Now I know why this was the only tray that no one bothered to steal or keep from potluck parties: no one wanted it.

Oh yeah, I even had enough to make a little cake just for us here at home.