Chocolate Owl Cake!

I'm so sorry I didn't post for november, I couldn't get my webcam to work on blogger, so i've been contemplating other ways to take pictures.

But anyway, I'm back, and my friend's birthday party is tomorrow. What better way to celebrate than with one of her favorite animals shaped in the best form possible?

So, with this time honored family recipe, the best buttercream ever, oreos and a little chocolate, 

I'm pretty sure i've made 

the absolute cutest

tastiest organism to ever hit my kitchen

not to mention this is the best cake i've ever made.

By that i mean that the frosting isn't paved with crumbs, or it doesn't look like a blob.

For this cake, i used my family's chocolate dump-it cake recipe, chocolate buttercream, and a little chocolate decor.

Chocolate Dump-It Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 eggs

You will also need

• one recipe buttercream 3/4 chocolate, 1/4 vanilla
• 2 oreos
• 2 nestle toll house chocolate chunks
• yellow food coloring

                 Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a medium pot, stir the sugar, chocolate, butter and water over medium heat until melted/combined. When melted/combined, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a small bowl, stir together vinegar and milk. When the chocolate mixture has cooled a little bit, stir in eggs and milk mixture. Then gradually add dry ingredients. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. remove cake from pan, and let cool. 

                  Prepare frosting. On a piece of parchment paper, trace your pan. inside the shape of the pan, draw your owl as large as possible. cut out the owl, and place it over cooled cake, using a serrated knife, cut along the shape of the owl, and save a rounded piece (i used a corner) for the beak. Frost an appropriate stomach area with vanilla frosting. Dye the remainder of vanilla yellow. Frost the entire rest of the cake with chocolate buttercream. Put the remainder of the chocolate frosting in a piping bag with a small round tip.  In the center of the owl's face, place the rounded piece. Frost it yellow. with the leftover chocolate frosting, pipe V's in rows on the stomach patch to look like feathers. Set aside the cake. Twist the 2 oreos, until the 2 sides come apart with all the creme on one side. press the sides, cookie-side down, into the cake on either side of the beak. press the chocolate chunks anywhere you want on the creme. Enjoy!

*I used chocolate and dark chocolate frosting because i forgot to leave some vanilla! Don't worry!*