Space Aliens Birthday Cake (Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache)


Argh, summer!  So busy.

It's been swimming lessons time for the kids, and they make it intense.  An hour a day, 4 days a week for two weeks!

It's always fine once we're there, but getting the swim bag packed every day and two kids plus self to the pool is just...consuming.


Once I got everything there except my own swimsuit.  Oops.

The up-side is, once you're in for swim lessons they let you stay all day.  

Nothing wrong with that!


Another great thing about summer is, my son's birthday is inside of it.

A July birthday!  The lucky guy.  

Me, I'm a January girl.  Ugh, miserable.  Usually I like to pretend January doesn't even exist.


He wanted a space-aliens party this year and I MAY have overdone it, with the papier-mache solar system and the internet-ordered aliens party plates.

But the cake was the most fun of all.

He won't hear of any cake flavor other than chocolate, so it's chocolate.  With chocolate frosting and chocolate ganache inside (I'm all about the ganache lately).


Little man is four.  I can hardly believe it.  The time, it flies.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Filling

2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot chocolate (unsweetened, if you can get it)

Preheat oven to 350, grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt.  You don't need a stand mixer, just a great big spoon.  Add eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and hot cocoa.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For frosting, make this recipe (use milk instead of champagne, or use champagne...also add 1/2 c of cocoa powder)!

For ganache, make this recipe!  

Spread it all around and enjoy.

2 comments:

Amy (Savory Moments) said...

This is such a fun cake! I bet he loved it.

Natalie @ Obsessive Cooking Disorder said...

What an adorable cake! Love the icing and colorfulness