Do They Make a Cake Level?-4/10/10

Google can tell you just about anything you want to know. No, I don't think anyones invented a cake level to help straighten crooked cakes. The links that connected to my Google query offered up a portable clothes washer and a chainsaw, neither of which would have helped the Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake I made today from this month's Bon Appetit. There were a few suggestions I will remember for next time to keep my cake from resembling the "Leaning Tower of Pisa". I left each of the three layers as they had baked in the cake pans, with a higher point in the center. The web suggested that flattening each layer in a uniform manner keeps your cake from leaning to the side. Another suggestion was to avoid touching the cake. I guess your hands make it more likely to crumble. I can proudly say that I didn't touch this cake. I actually made this cake for a couple in our church small group who just had a little boy on Easter Sunday. I thought making a completely new recipe for other people was a bit cruel on the off-chance it wasn't good but how can you go wrong with chocolate cake? I did cut off a bit of one layer so I could evaluate the flavor of the cake... and make sure I didn't poison anyone. This cake was super-chocolaty and very moist, a perfect cake for the chocolate purist. The frosting was also a purist's dream. It used 3 sticks of butter, powdered sugar, and melted baking chocolate. This was a cake for the chocolate lover. I'm kinda wishing I'd had a bigger piece right now!

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake-A

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