I Hope It Doesn't End Up On Cakewrecks

I got extremely ambitious yesterday. Joe was working, so I decided to surprise him with a Valentine treat.

First, mix up the batter. Yes, that's the good old Joy of Cooking there, turned to the page for Hurry Up Caramel Cake. I chose this recipe for several reasons: cake, caramel, and hurry up (aka "not complicated".)

 

Then, pour the batter into one round pan and one square pan. See where this is going? (I first learned how to do this when I was 9 years old, from the Betty Crocker Cook Book for Boys and Girls.)

Bake. Dump the cakes onto a cooling rack while you make the icing.

Now to the icing. I used the Joy's "Quick Dipping Icing II" because it was "quick" and because I had the ingredients and because it not involve cooking anything to any kind of esoteric stage or temperature.

I did, however, how to melt chocolate and butter in a jerryrigged double boiler.

Add the chocolate to powdered sugar dissolved in hot milk and beat it up until it's the right consistency for spreading (or until there are little bits of chocolate all over your shirt).

 

Cut the round cake in half. Put each half up against two sides of the square cake; trim off excess and eat it. (That last bit -- "eat it" -- is very important for quality control purposes.)

Ice that cake! Strictly speaking, I should have dipped the cake -- it was a "Dipping Icing", remember? -- but I just spread it around as best I could, adding artful swirls and stuff because I couldn't get it smooth.

Outline with white chocolate chips, because really, who wants a plain cake?

Might as well gild the lily. Toss on some red sprinkly things, and voila! A heart-shaped chocolate caramel Valentine's cake!