Kate’s Chocolate Birthday Cake

 1 cup boiling water

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate 

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs, separated

I teaspoon baking soda

½ cup dairy sour cream

2 cups less 2 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour, sifted 

I teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Knock out excess.
2. Pour boiling water over chocolate and butter; let stand until melted. Stir in vanilla and sugar, then whisk in egg yolks, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
3. Mix baking soda and sour cream and whisk into chocolate mixture.
4. Sift flour and baking powder together and add to batter, mixing thoroughly.
5. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir a quarter of the egg whites thoroughly into the batter. Scoop remaining egg whites on top of the batter and gently fold together.
6. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; unmold and cool completely before frosting.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

2 tablespoons sweet butter

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1¼ cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or as needed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over low heat and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly; add more sugar if necessary

Cinnamon Buns (Edith from Heritage Park's recipe)

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon yeast/1 packet

1/4 cup sugar

~3 cups hot water

let rise 15 minutes

1/4 cup oil or melted butter

2 cups flour

mix adding more flour, ~1 cup if needed

knead-until smooth

let rise 15 min

divide

roll each into 12x9 rectangle

butter, brown sugar, cinnamon

bake in moderate oven (350 degrees)

20 minutes

Erin's Caramels

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup butter

Cook to soft boil. Careful, it burns at the bottom of the pot easily.

Pour into greased 9x13, cut, and wrap.