Pre-School Graduation Cake!!!

Ok - I'm WAY behind (again) on my blog posts...I have so many cakes to catch you up on.  But I need to jump ahead to this current week.  I'm quite proud of this one.  I'm putting up the pictures now because if I don't do it now...who knows when I will! 

I will post all the details of this adventure..but for now...I hope you enjoy looking at this creation that I threw together for my little guy's Pre-School Graduation.  Still can't believe it's Kindergarten next year!!! 

Week 13 - Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate (Did I mention CHOCOLATE?) Cake!

Wow - I feel like it's been weeks since I made this cake.  Oh, wait - it has!  

 
My friend Natalie invited us over for dinner one night and this was the dessert that I brought.  The inside contained two layers of chocolate cake and tons of chocolate buttercream.  Then I smothered the outside with more chocolate buttercream. 

I wasn't 100% pleased with that so I had to call another friend to find out if I was losing my mind.  The phone call more or less went like this: "Hey Leigh, should I cover my chocolate cake that already has chocolate buttercream all over it with a layer of ganache? ... Yeah, that's what I thought.  Thanks, See you tonight!"

 
There you have it.  A massive chocolate overdose.  While I am getting a little tired of making this particular cake recipe - adding both the buttercream and ganache was definitely worth it.  

This picture looks a little lopsided - sorry!

Week 12 - Pumpkin - Chocolate Chip Bars

I know - I know...It's been over a month since my last post and I was already very behind.  Not to worry - I've been keeping up with the baking side of things...it's the blogging side that's somewhat slacking. 

It's been a busy few months.  My husband returned from Afghanistan in one piece and then ended up breaking his hand the night before our little one's Baptism.  It's been all downhill ever since!  Alas, I am back.  Hopefully I will have a couple posts up in the next day or so. 

In the meantime...here's week 12's yummy creation.  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.  I stumbled on this recipe last year when we were living in the Netherlands. The first time I made them was for Thanksgiving 2009.  Matt was away in Norway (I think) leaving Aidan and me to spend Turkey Day alone.  I made these as a special treat and we polished off half a batch!  They have since found their way into my "go-to" pile of recipes when I need something quick and delicious. 

This particular batch I whipped up for my super cool new neighbor.  We were invited over for a play date and I thought that these would be a fun snack.

Note to self: In the future...gift the ENTIRE batch and LEAVE with host. I selfishly saved some for me and ate the remaining bars that night.  Sometimes I simply can't help myself!