Here in Arizona, Spring has arrived at last after one of the wettest February's on record! Having said that, today is rather dull and grey, but this past week has been beautiful and the desert flowers are finally beginning to peek their heads above the ground for their brief but colorful visit. Hope Spring has arrived where you are!
This week was The Teen's birthday - can't believe he is 17! Thinking of birthday cake ideas for teenage boys is always a challenge, especially as they become 'too cool for school' and so I thought I would share what I eventually came up with in case it's a struggle for you too! I made a similar cake for him a few years ago which went down well, so I just changed it up a bit.
This Chocolate Explosion Cake is so quick and easy anyone can do it and yet it looks so impressive!
Start off with your favorite chocolate cake - approx 8" diameter. You can either make your own or if time if short, you can totally cheat and buy a ready made one like I did :). If you are going to make your own you will also need to cover the finished cake in frosting so that all those yummy chocolate bars have something to stick to (I just bought a chocolate fudge cake from my local grocery store - job done!)
Then, using a little chocolate frosting (again, you can use ready made - I used Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Frosting) just stick everything on! That's it! Everyone will think you're a cake maker extraordinaire, when really it just took a few minutes. My kind of cake!
You will need 10-12 large size 4 finger KitKats, I used 10 (well, actually I think it was 9.5 because I ate 2 fingers, LOL). Carefully break each of them into 2 finger chunks and spread a little frosting onto the back of each one and stick to the sides of your cake. Then, using an assortment of the recipient's favorite chocolate bars and candy, just arrange as you like on the top using more frosting as your 'glue'. You need some tall candy bars for the back of the cake - I used Oreo bars, Twix and Lindt chocolate bars, then I added Rolos around the edge of the back half (I bought two individual packets but if you want to to go all around the cake you will need more). I filled in all the gaps with Maltesers (found these at Target) and M&Ms and finally added the candles. I don’t think it took more than 40 minutes from start to finish!
Hope this helps to solve your birthday cake dilemma next time you need one. No chocolate lover could fail to be impressed!
