The Best Part of Birthdays

Once upon a time, on a fine Tuesday evening in June, Katie was bored. So, she decided to bake a cake.
Chocolate, she thought to herself. Sweet, but not too sweet.

So come 7:00PM on this fine Tuesday evening, after she'd finished shooting for the day, she deicded to make a cake. A Butter Chocolate Cake. Two layers, quite a bit of chocolate, and an insane amount of sugar.

A sugar-covered-kitchen, an empty pot of what used to be espresso (Triple+ shot at 8PM?! Insanity.), and two round 9" cakes later, she was ready to start on the frosting. Chocolate, a pound of powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Four of the best ingredients on the face of the planet, when used correctly and in proper proportions.

It was gorgeous. But too plain, she decided. It needed a topping.
Strawberries? No, no way to get them in time.
Razberries? Same answer as the strawberries.
Chocolate Chips? How cheesy.
Chocolate Curls? ..... ..... .... How?

So, she thought. How do you make chocolate curls?

First, she went to her chocolate stash - pounds and pounds of chocolate, of every shape and every size, of every flavor and every % darkness. Out comes the 5lb brick of milk chocolate, she'd been saving for a time when she'd need it. Into the makeshift double-boiler it goes, melting in a rather odd fashion.
Butter, that's what's supposed to be mixed into this, she thinks, as she notices the chocolate not melting properly. But how to curl?
Wax paper is a wonderful thing. So, she finishes melting the chocolate, pours it onto two sheets of wax paper, and puts it in the freezer to harden. While still pliable, she takes it out, and rolls it up. Bad move #1. She freezes it. Solid. Bad move #2.
After realizing that she shouldn't have done this, she removes it from the freezer, and tries to cut it while still keeping its curl. This entire process is entirely more difficult than it seems, and alot more messy. Who knew chocolate could fly so far across the room?

But several doubts and a larger mess later, she finishes, garnishes the cake, and tops with sifted powdered sugar.
For a first try, she thinks, it's not bad.

Behold, the finished product:

And yes, it's just as good as it looks.


Lessons that were learned from this cake:
1. Chocolate gets everywhere.
2. Curling chocolate is virtually impossible without the correct tools.
3. Chocolate melted with butter is heaven on earth.
4. This cake is so worth every calorie I don't need.
5. Yes, Ken, I can bake. And when you come back from Venezuela, I'll prove it to you.

Date of consumption: June 20, 2007 - My Co-workers are taking me out to lunch. I'm providing dessert.


Edit:
Aftershock: The Cake was delicious. Splendid. Spectacular. There aren't enough words in the english dictionary to describe it. The best phrase would probably be:
Death by Chocolate.
Never have I gotten so many compliments on my baking skills nor so many requests by people to bake cakes for their birthday.