Birthday Cake!

Melissa has made this cake for my birthday every year since I was 16. I'm madly in love with it and make everyone eat it. It's a heavenly combination of chocolate and mint and fudgie-ness. It's so famous that even Sandy made it in Tonga. So in honor of Brad's birthday we have cake! And for obvious reasons the Boston Red Sox logo could not be as awesome as our Phillies Cake.

Jenni's Chocolate Mint Torte Birthday Cake

(from the Kitchen of Melissa)

Ingredients:

8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 teaspoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions:
1. Set a roasting pan on lowest rack. Fill pan with water. Pre-heat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 by 4 1/2 loaf pan with cooking spray. Cut parchment paper large enough to cover bottom and hang over sides of pan. Coat again with cooking spray.
2. Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted. Let cool slightly.
3. Put heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until soft peaks form. 1 to 2 min.
4. Put eggs and sugar in the clean bowl and wisk until triple in volume. Gently fold half of chocolate mixture into egg mixture until almost incorparated, fold in remaining chocolate. Fold in whipped cream and peppermint.
5. Reduce oven temp to 325. Pour batter into loaf pan. Set pan in roasting pan. Bake until it looses it's sheen and appears set when jiggled. About 25 - 30 min.
6. Carefully transfer roasting pan from water bath.; let cool.
7. Pulling on parchment paper, remove torte from pan and transfer to baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 min. Using a spatula gently loosen torte from parchment paper and invert onto a serving platter. Lightly dust with cocoa powder.

Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
Directions:
In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like.