*Please update your bookmarks to my new website: Hi friends! Happy Thursday!
Today is my brother-in-law’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Tucker!! 
A year ago today, Tucker had the WORST birthday ever… he lost his dog, Charlie, in a tragic dog attack.
We sure did love that little guy. Still do. <3
Charlie was a member of the family for years, and one of my husband’s best friends as well, so needless to say, it was a heart-breaking day. Maybe the worst day we’ve had in our 5+ years together. The last thing on our minds was celebrating a birthday. 
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This year, we are trying our darnedest to make this a HAPPY birthday!! Tucker has lots of things to be happy about this year–> most notably, his ADORABLE baby girl!
Seeing her little face makes everything better!
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Something else that makes things better? Birthday cake. Homemade birthday cake, to be exact.
I’m gonna warn you guys, there is NOTHING healthy about what you’re about to see… but, as far as I’m concerned, birthdays aren’t the time to cut corners! (or calories!!) 
Tucker loves chocolate cake, so I wanted to make the BEST chocolate cake possible for tonight’s celebration! And, according to Kevin and Amanda, they’ve got the recipe for the BEST Chocolate Cake, so I’m gonna trust them. (I also liked this recipe because it uses a “box mix” as a base– perfect for me, since I don’t like keeping white flour and sugar around my house…) The batter came together really quickly! I poured it into two 9-inch cake pans, then realized I forgot to fold in the mini-chocolate chips! Oops.
Turns out, you can just pour the chocolate chips on top and fold them into the batter directly in the pans like I did.
After about 40 minutes in the oven, I had deeeeee-licious smelling cake!!
Kinda looks like a GIANT double-chocolate cookie, doesn’t it?? YUM.
Rather than using the frosting recipe that Kevin and Amanda recommended, I opted for my own Almond Buttercream recipe instead… it’s ALWAYS a crowd pleaser!
…probably because it uses REAL butter and my favorite ingredient of all time:
I heart Almond extract. It makes everything taste so gourmet! (hence, why I use it in my Cherry Chocolate pudding so often!)
Frosting action:
My giant OREO cake.
And I decided to make it fancy schmancy with a decorating tip:
(No need to buy those special “frosting” bags! I simply use a plastic sandwich bag, cut a hole in the corner, and slide my decorating tip in!) Instant “cake decorating” bag! 
Here’s the final product, cooling in the fridge so that the frosting will set:
Maybe not the most professional-looking cake, but I have a feeling it’s going to taste AHHH-mazing!!!! I can’t wait to taste-test it!
So, about those September goals I was talking about… looks like they’re going to have to be put on hold for tonight. I can’t turn down homemade birthday cake!! (especially since I made it!!) At least I burned some calories whipping it together by hand, right??
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I’ve also got some good news for all of my readers out there– I see some UN-baking in my near future, too! Check out what the postman delivered today:
My dehydrator is HERE!!!!!!!!!! (and it’s WAY bigger than I was expecting!!)
I smell a macaroon giveaway coming up… Stay tuned.
Alright, it’s time for me to get showered and ready for the party tonight!! Hope you’re all having a good day!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite kind of birthday cake?? My favorite is homemade strawberry cake (this recipe!) and I’d love to learn how to make a GOOD white cake! (like wedding cake!) Can you tell I’m still suffering from a “sugar coma” from last weekend’s wedding festivities?? Once refined sugar gets in my system, it’s like CRACK!! Hard to break away from… but I will do it! (tomorrow, that is… after birthday cake!!) Ha ha, spoken like a true addict.
Do you guys ever feel like you’re addicted to sweets? Or junk food in general?? I think I’m easily addicted to sugar, which is why I usually have to stick to my “safe” treats like choco-cado pudding and dark chocolate! And when I do indulge in highly sweetened or processed treats, I expect to feel some “withdrawal” symptoms for a few days afterward! Some treats are worth that “sugar hangover” to me, but most are not. Boy, I hope this cake is WORTH it!!
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Omg that cake looks beautiful!! And I can only imagine how delicious it will be!! So sorry to hear about the tragedy with the puppers. I have lost a pup to a car as well, and it was heartbreaking
My favorite kind of bday cake…mmm so hard to choose!! I LOVE cake in general, I mean really I cant choose one lol
I def find that once I started eating junk it gets harder to eat clean. At my dads I had a handful of candy corn almost everyday. I didnt even WANT them, they just pulled me in!!
I do find I crave sugar a bit more when I have it, but not so bad that I can’t ignore those cravings and opt for something else when I know I just need to satisfy my hunger.
And you need to make my birthday cake. That looks goooood!
Cake is beautiful!!! Can I have a slice??
And woohoo you got a dehydrator!!!
Favorite birthday cake – we loved chocolate chip cookie cake ; )
Almond Buttercream omg looks awesome. REAL butter (for some reason i thought you were a vegan, glad youre not…LOL as I am ready to drop my own vegan label, not b/c i eat butter but bc i am sick of being judged!) and almond extract..yum!
Sugar is always worth it to me
Dehydrator…YES they are BIG!!!! have fun!!!!!
goodness me – theat cakeisgorgeous!
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yummmmmmmmmmmmmmy
Real butter *drool* I wish
At one point I’d definitely say I was crazy over sugar..I still love me some sugar, don’t get me wrong..but I don’t crave it like crazy. Which is awesome.
Great job on the cake, it looks gorgeous!
I can get very easily addicted to chocolate. I’m on one of my attacks again. I had chocolate twice today. Usually its more like once or twice a week :/
That cake looks awesome! Happy Birthday to Tucker!
I am also easily addicted to sugar/sweets. I have to watch how much I eat or I end up eating it all day. I try to stick to sweet things like PB, Jam, Honey, Fruit, Dark Choc, etc. But an indulgence here and there is ok too
Favorite kind of cake? I’m sorry, but I have to say Dairy Queen ice cream cake. That choc crunch layer in the middle is so delicious!
Hey Megan, hope you’re having a nice weekend, I just wanted you to know that I gave you a blog award this morning. I hope you get a chance to check it out!
A macaroon giveaway? Yes, please!! Your macaroons look so good!
WOW what a cake! I like cheesecake and angel food cake the best. But you definitely can NEVER go wrong with chocolate
My favorite cake is Megan’s strawberry cake. Yum!! I can pretty much resist any other type of cake:)
I have two favorite birthday cakes, one is a bourbon/rum soaked cake with maple frosting. The OTHER is my Dad’s favorite. It’s a beast of a cake. It’s a dark chocolate raspberry cake with white chocolate chunks and raspberry jam and chocolate ganache slathered all over it. All that in a thick chocolate shell. Seriously, no one can eat more than a teensy slice, it’s really dense.
Definitely addicted. Definitely.
That cake looks soooo good!!
[...] Bittersweet Birthday [...]