Chef Zee I have a 30 year old cookbook put out by Knudsen’s - I got it because I wanted to learn how to make chocolate cheese cake. They have a devil’s food recipe in there that is the best in the world. One of it’s liquids is buttermilk which gives it an edge. I will have to look up the blackout cake for my youngest’s 16th birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. The kids will love the name of it. I used to bake quite a bit. When I was a kid we had a cook and she was a great cake baker and decorator, and she taught me. Every birthday we got the most fantastic cakes. My sister got a Steinway cake once, that she didn’t eat, she let it dry and saved for years. LOL. (I am going to tease her about that) but one year she decorated my cake like a straw hat full of flowers. She gave the hat a woven texture and everything. The flowers she had hand crafted earlier and they were two toned velvet looking pansies, roses and an iris. Just gorgeous. Well, got to figure out what to do for my son. You’ve inspired me.

Chef Zee Okay - I futz around and found a couple of recipes - would you mind - give me a clue to which one would be the best way to go. http://www.labellecuisine.com/Archives/Chocolate/Ebinger’s%20Blackout%20Cake.htm http://www.recipelink.com/cookbooks/1999/0609604201_2.html Not looking for perfection, just progress.