‘Tis the season for overindulgence: The Hummingbird Bakery’s sweet and salty chocolate cake
Expect lots and lots of baking to come
I’m back…!
Some of you may not noticed but the last three posts have been made by my husband, whom I love even more now because he’s been stepping in to fill the void as I’ve been a bit busy at work and not had much time to cook. But I’m back, and with a vengeance!
Santa came early to my house this year – and my sweet other half let me have my present early. I’ve been saving up money to buy a Kitchenaid for ages and here it is, ta dah!
And this special gift required a special cake to go with it.
We celebrated our first ‘pre-Christmas’ with our best friends yesterday who won’t be with us this Christmas, so for the special occasion, I turned to The Hummingbird Bakery’s cookbook and decided to make their sweet and salty chocolate cake.
The Hummingbird Bakery's Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cake (with my disaster-cake topping)
This cake really needs to come with a warning label because it’s really, really rich and totally breaks the scales in terms of calories but it is Christmas and it’s not something that we’ll have again for a very long time.
My one admission is that I had a bit of a disaster in the kitchen (again) and the cake tins were too small when I baked the three cakes. I’m talking major cake overflow in the oven here, so bad that I didn’t even have time to capture the disaster. BUT, I did manage to save the cakes and because I thankfully had a baking tray under the cake tins, I actually turned my baking nightmare into a triumph. I crumbled the excess cake that had overflowed and crushed them up to turn them into a crunchy topping on the cake. I can truly say that it was an inspired idea because this cake (and the chocolate cake topping) is to die for!
From disaster to inspiration - the chocolate cake topping turned out to be an awesome mistake!
It is however super rich and since it’s a little shorter than I imagine the cake should really have been, I now have enough frosting left over to spread on my next cake. 🙂
And how do I know it’s a really good cake? Because even with only 6 adults and 2 kids eating, I barely have any cake left over… good tidings to all you chocoholics out there.
I’ve copied the Hummingbird Bakery’s Sweet and Salty Chocolate cake recipe in full here.
Lots of love
thebigfatnoodle
It's a shame this is so good and so bad for you at the same time.
thebigfatnoodle 
Well done on turning what could have been a disappointment into a major triumph and success – beautifully done.
🙂 Mandy
Thank you. It was a really lucky save and could have seriously ended in tears!
I just accidentally ate the last piece: it’s like a blackhole of chocolatey-ness, sucking anyone passing by toward it. There I was, innocently walking by and BOOOM.
You piglet! I can’t believe you didn’t even save me a mouthful!
So did I, 10 min ago…. Heaven ! x
Did the kids actually get to eat any of the leftover cake today??? 🙂
Of course not 🙂
This had me at sweet and salty 🙂 love that combination. This looks so indulgent.
I shouldn’t be saying this but I am already dreaming of when I can make it again. That’s really bad, isn’t it?
BFN, 3 things:
1) Getting a KitchenAid is a goal of mine also – yayy, for you!
2) Big kudos to you for turning a disaster into something amazing – that cake topping seems inspired and awesome.
3) That cake looks freakin delicious!!
The cake topping was pure coincidental luck but it works so well that I might have to try it on other cakes as well – you end up with crunchiness as well as gooeyness 🙂 keep saving those pennies and let me know when you buy your kitchenAid 🙂
Oh my word that looks good.
Thanks, I can’t believe we’ve scoffed ALL of the cake already. Oh the shame…
I opened your post this morning and that cake just jumped out at me – YUMMY! A KitchenAid what a nice gift. My other half gave me a Vita Mix Blender a few months back and am loving it! Enjoy:)
I can’t wait to bake, bake and do even more baking 🙂
This looks ABSOLUTELY stunning – I’m very impressed.
Thank you 🙂
I so want a Kitchenmaid too!!!! It’s so lovely and shiny red and would look fabulous in my kitchen !
I’ll just go and dribble and drool elsewhere…… those layers in the cake are truly drool worthy 🙂
Sorry that should have read Kitchenaid – not maid !!!
I’ll take a maid too LOL
OMG that cake looks like pure heaven! I am literally drooling. Nothing like a good chocolate cake!
Now that’s one heck of a cake…wow! I love how you iced the sides of the cake. Just lovely. 🙂
Thank you. That was another nifty trick from the Hummingbird Bakery’s cookbook though theirs was still much tidier than my efforts. I’m still very new to cake baking so I need much more practice!
Welcome back! I like your new toy! (for foodies kitchen appliance=toy)
This looks Amazing!
It is indeed! My friend used it to make brandy butter during Christmas and he loved it as well LOL.
Sweet and salty are always a great combo! Nice save BFN!
Cheers! I can’t stop telling everyone how divine this cake was. We’re in healthmode at the moment but this cake is a serious contender for my birthday this year hahaha
I like your creativity here! Turning a disaster into a “I can handle this” moment is always a kitchen triumph. Oh, and sweet + salty = amazing! 😉
Thank you. I was really, really lucky this time…!
I got a KitchenAid a little while ago – so great! And that cake looks fab too.
Isn’t it so much fun! I smile every time I see it in the kitchen. I know it’s silly but I can’t help it!
I am super jealous (yet very happy for you) of your Christmas gift. I cannot tell you how long I have been daydreaming about a stand up mixer. Lucky.
And that cake, oh lordie, that cake! I will be waiting on my porch with a plate and fork in tow, waiting upon your arrival with one slice for me 🙂
I wish I could send you a slice but we ate it ALL, Oops! 🙂
That ended up being a spectacular looking cake…and a very rich one, too! Also am envious of the red stand mixer. I’ve nominated you in my next post for the Versatile Blogger award because I really enjoy reading your blog. I hope you don’t already have it, but congrats to you on such a fun blog. Cheers and Happy New Year to you!
Yes it was really too delicious for words 🙂
Congrats on the Kitchenaid! I couldn’t live without mine and it’s the same color as yours! 🙂 Beautiful looking cake, thanks for the recipe! I think I’ll try it for my sweety on Valentine’s day!
This cake is amazing! You won’t regret it!
Gosh, that looks amazing! So decadent.