Taste 10, Looks 3

The story:

I was going to a game night on Saturday and thought I would make a cake. Then I got it into my silly head that I should be creative and make a cake that looked like a dice. Easy enough, right?

I made a cake in a 13x9in pan. My grand plan was to cut out two squares from the middle and stack them on top of each other to make a cube for the dice shape.

Next up was the decorating which was also my nemesis. Little did I know that buttercream frosting doesn't really stick well to the sides of cut cake. Harumph x 100!

I tried with the frosting. Then I tried with white chocolate candy coating. Then I just gave up. I cut the sides and put white coating on top. I started drawing the dots of a die on the top. Then my edible ink pen dried up. Ugh! So I tried to save it all by adding red candy coating circles. *sigh*

I was determined to try a different strategy. So, I gathered up the leftover cake parts and added my buttercream frosting to it. Instead of cake pops, I made huge cake dice. I had run out of my previous white coating from the first cake, so I decided to make red dice. I used melted chocolate chips for the dice's dots.

*double sigh* Well, it TASTED good.

One thing I learned (and that I had a suspicion about for awhile): I am NOT a good decorator. If it involves just icing a cake, no problem. But decorating? Not my forte. If I ever open a bake shop I will stick to the baking department and hire an artist for the decorating department.

Chocolate Cake (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of semi-sweet cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Buttercream Frosting
1 stick softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter. Beat in the sugar and the vanilla. Pour in the milk. Frosting should be at a good texture, but feel free to add more milk to change the consistency of the frosting.

Bake well and prosper!

FYI The title of this blog is a play off of Dance 10, Looks 3 from Chorus Line. In case you didn't know.