Best Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

This cake is extremely moist and dense, without being overly rich.  It really is the best chocolate cake recipe I've come across thus far.

How To :: Classic Gingerbread House + Free Printable Pattern

I have an early Christmas gift for y'all today. 

I am thrilled to be able to share this How-To and as a bonus I've created free printable patterns, just for you.  Ho Ho Ho.

Making these Gingerbread Houses was a highly anticipated tradition as I was growing up, and now I enjoy making them with my own little girls.  It is so magical and fun and totally worth the mess.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

It snowed today.  First snow of the season, and a frigid cold day.

So the girls and I huddled inside and baked.

Rainbow Sour Cream Cupcakes

My youngest baby girl Gigi recently turned one.  

She's my angel baby.  Sweet, quiet, cuddly and the calm observer amongst her two spunky, boisterous elder sisters.  And like all babies of the family, my unabashed favorite child.  

Perfect Chocolate Buttercream

I made this and spread it upon a reeeaaallly good chocolate cake- recipe to follow soon, it was snarfed up by family members before I could document it's greatness- as a belated Father's day dessert for my beloved P-Man.

He's an exceptional Dad to his girls.

We're all darn lucky to have him.  

I'm sorry to have to say this, but I was raised in a family that could take or leave chocolate. 

Yes people like that really exist. 

We prefer fruity desserts over double-chocolate-chunk-ganache-fudge-cocoa-smothered whatevers...  It's a genetic thing I'm sure.  But my choc-aholic husband has gradually eroded my ways and today I find myself sitting somewhere in the middle. 

I do like and even crave chocolate occasionally now.  Quite the evolution.

This frosting really was divine.  My P-Man's say on the matter was that he normally scrapes off the cloyingly sweet frosting and just eats the cake, but this frosting was in his words perfect.   

Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

There were a few extra strawberries in the fridge that I had somehow managed to hide from my girls.  This small miracle resulted the epiphany that I needed to fold fresh strawberry puree into the vanilla buttercream. 

The verdict: lovely, fragrant, pastel pink perfection. 

Vanilla Buttercream & Doctored Cake Mix

Oh Buttercream.  Thank you for being so flawlessly easy to whip up and so sinfully perfect.  I shan't ever open a can of store-bought frosting again.  

You surpassed my every expectation.  

But there's more!  My lovely Mom-in-law Charlyn--who has loads of cupcake wisdom--shared with me the secret to achieving wonderfully moist, flavorful cake from a box.  

Mayonnaise!  Who knew?!