Happy Valentine's Day!

I have to tell you about a really good ebook that I read over the weekend: "Champagne Toast" by Melissa Brown. It's told by both of the characters’ POV (points of view), going back and forth between them over a period of four years. I really liked it and give it 4 1/2 it's available on Amamzon for $3.99 or free if you're an Amazon Prime Member at Champagne. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (and make sure that you don't read the ending before it really is the end of the book the way I always seem to do).

So, about my interest in the sex scenes in romance books… I truly did skip them because I wasn’t reading the books for that, I was reading them for the actual romance, or story if you’d like. You could always tell if I tried to read the sex scenes when I first started reading romance novels because I would turn really red in the face -- my friends got a kick out of it. I only let close friends know that I read romance books because I hated being teased about reading them. People were so used to seeing me read serious books or adult-type material that it shocked them when they found out that I was reading romances. Only very few people knew how many I could go through in a week. I ate them up like candy.

On that note, instead of an all-romance posting this week, I'm offering up something else that’s a little sweet. This delicious Devil’s Food cake recipe (which will make 24 cupcakes or 2 9-inch round cake, but feel free to make a 9x13 if you don't have any round cake pans) is awesome. Use really good cocoa powder for this recipe (it deserves it). I think that your valentine will be very pleased with the recipe below.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I’m just finishing up putting together that first author interview I mentioned last week. You’ll see it here next week around Feb. 20^th.

Here’s the recipe:

Devil’s Food Cake – from The Modern Café

You are going to want to use an electric scale so that you're able to use this recipe because I broke it down into grams. Make sure that you use a really good cocoa powder.

This is one of my very favorite cakes that I learned to make while getting my degree in the Baking and Pastry Arts. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients Needed: (make sure that all the wet ingredients are at room temperature.)

Sugar – 562 grams

Pastry flour – 161.5 grams

Bread flour – 161.5 grams

Cocoa powder – 151.5 grams

Baking powder – 5 grams

Baking soda – 2.5 grams

Salt – 1.5 grams

Eggs – 178 grams

Egg yolks (only) – 71.5 grams

Butter (melted, but cool) – 76 grams

Butter Milk – 327 grams

Coffee – 303.5 grams

1. Preheat your oven to 320 degrees and get your two 9” and spray them with Pam or your cupcake pans ready.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients onto a sheet of parchment paper or into bowl.

3. Bring all the liquids, including the melted butter up to 70°. Place the eggs and egg yolks in a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients in the recipe, and then slowly whisk in the melted butter. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk and, finally, the coffee.

4. Whisk all the dry ingredients until liquid, whisking constantly until it is thoroughly mixed

5. Pour your batter into prepared cake pans or scoop even amounts into the cupcake holders in you pans.

6. Bake for 10 min., and rotate the cake pans, and then bake for 7 to 9 more minutes or until the cake springs back when gentle pressure is applied with your fingertips. Check doneness with a toothpick at the center of the cake pan or one of cupcakes. If you're not sure. Press the middle of the cake with your finger. If it springs back, it is done.

7. If you do not plan to use the cakes right away. Make sure that you wrap them twice in Saran wrap and label them with the date that you made them they will freeze to up to two months. Do not stack them

8. Once the cakes and or cupcakes are totally cooled you can start decorating. You don't need to add the extra cake around the side as I did. I just use it for decoration because I really like it.

For the buttercream frosting to decorate with you can basically use any buttercream frosting that you like or use. I cheat sometimes (if I know I won’t have the time to make frosting) and use the Wilton frosting which works just as well.