Chocolate Lovers: Unite!

Do you ever wonder what the world would be like without chocolate? I can only imagine what women would get for Valentine's Day or how many popcorn balls would be given out at Halloween in its absence.

While I'm working on revamping my diet to include fresh options in lieu of processed ones, I still have a heart for baking that just can not be crushed! So this past weekend I set out to make a decadent four layer chocolate masterpiece. :)

I got the inspiration from The Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond. She is an amazing cook! I always record her show Saturday mornings on The Food Network, but she began with her own blog. Anyway, Sunday I decided to give her Big Chocolate Birthday Cake recipe a whirl.

First, you mix the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Next, melt the cocoa with the butter (and this recipe calls for a lot of butter) in a saucepan over medium heat. 

Now throw the cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients and give it a stir. The best thing about this recipe is that no mixer is required. However, I should have either mixed a little longer or used a whisk as I did find a few clumps of flour in the baked cake. Anyway, go ahead and grease 4 cake pans, powder with cocoa, and separate the mix into each one. 

Bake, cool, and stack one layer on top of the other with a light layer of chocolate mousse frosting. (I have this recipe with the full cake recipe, too.) 

And here is the finished product! 

I also froze a thin layer of melted semi-sweet chocolate and then broke it into pieces to put on top of the cake. 

Yummy! Looks like I'll have to work on my sharing skills if I'm going to continue to bake! 

Enjoy! :)