Happy Birthday to Jesus

What does your family do to celebrate the birth of Christ? Now that we have a family (well, we have always been family, but now more than husband and wife) we wanted to start some Christmas traditions that would help our children (child for now) understand what Christmas is all about. So one tradition we started this year was to make a birthday cake for Jesus (excluding candles of course). My husband asked for Chocolate Stout Cake. Once we decided it was OK to make a cake for Jesus that had stout in it, I went shopping for the ingredients. Actually, I only needed to shop for 1 ingredient the stout, because I had all the rest on hand.

This is a dense, rich, chocolate cake covered with a smooth ganache. You will be tempted to go out and buy another cake pan for this 3 layer cake, but you don't have to, you can just bake the layers in batches. You do need cake pans that have straight edges. It says that it makes 12 servings, but in my experience it will serve WAY more. I am a chocolate lover and I can only eat a sliver of this cake. So plan on sharing this cake unless you want cake every night for 2 weeks.

Chocolate Stout Cake

from bon appetit Desserts

Cake:

2 cups stout (I use Guinness)

2 cups unsalted butter, diced

1 1/2 cups of unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

4 cups all purpose flour

4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sour cream

Icing:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (about 1 1/2 packages)

Cake: Preheat oven to 350. Butter your 8-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter paper. Bring stout and butter to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat, whisking to melt butter. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Cool to lukewarm.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend. Beat eggs and sour cream in a stand mixer. Add stout-chocolate mixture and beat to combine. Add flour mixture and beat 10-15 seconds at low speed. Using a spatula, gently fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. (Check at 25 and 30 min b/c for me 35 is too long) Cool cakes in pans on a rack for 10 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto rack, peel off parchment, and cool completely.

Icing: Bring cream to a simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing thickens to spreadable consistency, stirring frequently, about 2 hours. (2 hours has never been long enough for me. Sometimes I refrigerate the icing over night and place on the counter top to warm up enough to spread about 2 hrs)

Place 1st layer on plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with 2nd layer. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with 3rd layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides.

**If you are going to put your icing in the refrigerator

over night make sure to hide it or threaten your family to keep out or it will all be devoured before you can ice the cake. Especially if my father-in-law is around. The good news people will be fighting over who gets to lick to bowl uhh I mean wash the dishes.

What are some of your family traditions that help you focus on the birth of Christ?