Old-School Birthday Cake

My birthday was last week, September 26, and I wanted a birthday cake.
 
No, you don’t get it.

A BIRTHDAY CAKE.
 
I didn’t want a gourmet cake with almond or raspberry puree fillings, and I didn’t want a series of adorable cupcakes with toppings like mascarpone frosting and fleur de sels.
 
I wanted a regular yellow cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles.

Like an 8 year old.
 
I knew that I didn’t want to buy a cake because mine would probably taste better  there was a recipe I’ve been wanting to try out.

 
 
Yellow cake is one of those cakes that I typically don’t ever choose willingly. I much prefer chocolate and other flavored cakes because I find classic yellow cakes to be springy and dry. While looking through recipes, I came across The Fresh Loaf    where she makes yellow cake using a pound cake base. Her frosting wasn't something that I was interested in, but her cake sounded perfect.

 
 
This would be my birthday cake!
 
All week long I’ve been itching to make it, but I was stuck at a conference and had to put it off.
 
After three days of relentless presentations and chatting up academic snobs, I got to work on my cake on Sunday afternoon. 

I used a foil pan because I couldn't find my real ones. I think they're somewhere in a box...

It could be beginner's luck, but the cake came out perfectly. It was super buttery and dense and moist. I think this is my new go to yellow cake recipe. 
 
 
Now, unlike a lot of other chocolate lovers out there, I tend to not enjoy chocolate frosting. I find them to be too sweet, too bitter, and too stiff…all at the same time.

 
And please, don’t ever throw money away buying store bought chocolate frosting. It’s even worse. Yuck.
 
Unless of course you like it. Then it’s cool.
 
Nevertheless, I REALLY wanted chocolate frosting on this cake and thought that perhaps a  chocolate ganache frosting, which only includes chocolate and heavy cream, could be the winner.
 
It was! 

 
 
I will NEVER make any other kind of chocolate frosting again. The ganache tasted great, had the perfect consistency, and was super easy to make. I used semi-sweet chocolate and threw in a couple handfuls of milk chocolate chips in there too. You know, just 'cause.  ;)
 
After I finished the cake and it was all ready, I pretended that there was a candle on it and proceeded to sing “Happy Birthday” to myself. 

 
 
I had a GREAT birthday this year, so please don’t feel sorry for me if the aforementioned cake singing sounds pathetic. I just felt it was the appropriate thing to do.

I swear I used a cake leveler. I don't know why the layers came out all jacked up.

 
 
That is all. :)