Chocolate chocolate Birthday cake!!!

first attempt at a fondant bow

1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375

Combine dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Melt butter, water and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil and pour into dry ingredients in mixing bowl and beat together.  Beat in sour cream then add in eggs and mix well.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.  Can use a jelly roll pan for texas sheet cake style or cake rounds for a birthday cake.

For Birthday cake, make up some chocolate genache while the cake cools.  Spread genache in between layers and pour generously over the top.  Use piped icing for happy birthday saying.

Time for Gingerbread

These are good made up as men or can be cut in rounds for a ginger snap. 

These cookies are so good I'm not sure they will last long enough to decorate.  Might want to make a double batch!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon orange or lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg and mix well. Mix in the orange/or lemon peel and molasses. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and salt, mixing until well combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours.  I chilled overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are firm and lightly toasted on the edges.