Chocolate Dream Peony Cake

   ~  Hello Dear Friends! We are finally getting settled in Seattle Washington!  It's really green and beautiful here in the Northwest.  We are enjoying Seattle, and looking forward to new adventures on the West Coast.  I've been working more on the cookbook, which I'm getting really excited about!  I will keep you updated as it moves along!  So stay tuned for details!  
   ~  I know we are all enjoying every minute of peony season...so I thought it the perfect time to share this favorite cake of mine!  Isn't it gorgeous?  It's perfect for birthdays and special occasions this time of year!  If you haven't already planted a peony bush...now is the time!  Peonys are perennial, so they come back every spring and early summer.  They are very hardy and love the sun!  You'll love the amazing blooms in your yard as well as in arrangements and as decoration for this delicious cake!  You can use other flowers as decoration on this cake if you don't have any peonys, a big gerber daisy would be really pretty on top too.  

Chocolate Dream Peony Cake

2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups butter milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan or spray with baking spray with flour.  In bowl of electric mixer add all of the dry ingredients and whisk together with a hand held whisk.  Add all of the wet ingredients and beat on medium with electric mixer until thoroughly combined, for about 3 minutes.  Pour batter into prepared pan until it reaches ¾ of the way to the top.   Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.   Let cake sit overnight or for a few hours before inverting onto cake platter.  Pipe stripes, as directed, with White Chocolate Butter cream Frosting. 

White Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

The white chocolate frosting looks beautiful against the dark chocolate cake and the two flavors together are downright heavenly.

11.5 oz. package white chocolate chips, (melted in the top of a double boiler)

1/4 cup egg whites, (from 2 large eggs)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

pinch cream of tartar

scant 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

Mix together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in small saucepan.  Place on lowest heat possible heat until just warm to the touch. In electric mixer whip egg white mixture for 5 minutes or until cool and holds a stiff peak.  Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time to egg white mixture, beat while scraping bowl as needed. Add melted white chocolate and vanilla and whip for 1 minute. Fit decorators bag with a ½ inch round tip or with no tip at all.  (You'll want a big opening to make a thick stripe of frosting.)  Fill with frosting.  Starting in center of bundt cake, pipe a stripe of frosting 6 inches long ending midway down the cake.   Repeat with additional stripes, each a few inches apart.  Each stripe will begin in the center of the bundt cake.  Fill center of cake with extra frosting and top with a pink peony, pansies or other fresh flowers. Allow cake to set in a cool location, but do not refrigerate.