Death-By-Chocolate Cake

This is a process, but totallty worth it! We are making the cake and decoating it too. It's quite a few steps but the end result... spectacular! The recipe for the cake and the frosting came from an old cookbook, The Encyclopedia of Cooking in 24 Volumes. Warning! This is super rich, so don't eat more than a square inch at a time!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 20
• Yields: 3 cake layers

Ingredients

• The Cake

• 2 1⁄4 cups  sifted flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 4  semi-sweet chocolate baking squares
• 1 1⁄4 cups milk
• 3⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2⁄3 cup shortening
• 1  cup sugar
• 3  eggs

• The Frosting

• 3⁄4 cup butter
• 3 1⁄2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 5  tablespoons  cream or 5  tablespoons evaporated milk
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 cup  baker's cocoa powder, sifted

• Other ingredients

• 3  ounces white chocolate
• 3  ounces dark chocolate
• 3  ounces  milk chocolate
• 20  strawberries

Directions

1. For the Cake: Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together. Heat chocolate and milk in the top of a double boiler until chocolate melts. Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Cool and add vanilla extract.
2. In another bowl,cream shortening with sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each is added.
3. Add sifted dry ingredients and cooled chocolate mixture alternately in small amounts, beating well after each addition.
4. Pour into greased pans and bake at 350 degrees ferhenhite for 30 to 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Makes 3 9" layers.
5. For frosting: Sifted sugar and cocoa together, set aside. Cream the butter. Add remaining ingredients and continue creaming until mixture is well blended and fluffy.
6. Assembly: Smooth frosting between each 9" layer and on the top of the cake also. Smooth remaining frosting around outside.
7. Hull and halve the strawberries.
8. Melt seperately the white and milk chocolate. Dip each strawberry half first in the milk, than the white chocolate. Set aside to dry on wax paper.
9. Once dry, place at intervals around top and bottom of cake.
10. Melt dark chocolate and drizzle over the whole cake. Let chill in the fridge for about an hour or as many as five.