We’re eating fudgy, moist Earl Grey chocolate layer cake filled with lavender ganache and frosted with cream cheese icing.

On my other website, FoodPornDaily, I often get email requests for the food featured in the daily images. An old one that I still get requests for is the Earl Grey chocolate cake. There is something magical about the way that Earl Grey tea combines with chocolate to make a mildly floral yet roasty fudgy flavor that my tongue just can’t get enough of. And seriously, I’m not a chocolate lover. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a hater either! It’s just that I can either take or leave chocolate. I never crave it but if it appears in front of me in a delicious dessert, I’m not going to say no to at least a bite. This cake appears to be the exception… I find myself craving it every few weeks…but I’m gonna blame that on my deep-seated love of Earl Grey tea.

In the recipe below I call for lavender extract in the ganache. To be frank – when I made this and put the extract in both the cream cheese frosting and the ganache, I thought the whole thing was a little too floral. I don’t mind hints of floral in my food but if it’s like I’m eating a f*cking wedding bouquet I’d rather not have it in my mouth, ya know? Anyway, for the recipes that follow – I am suggesting that you NOT use the lavender extract in the cream cheese frosting and only use a small amount in the ganache. If you don’t have it on hand then I wouldn’t make a special trip out to find it. Just omit the extract all together and you still won’t be disappointed in the cake. Oh yeah – and don’t worry about dying the cream cheese frosting purple – turns out people will likely make fun of you for making a “Barney” cake.

*This post is dedicated to Samantha Penney and Gwen Miller for continuing to remind me to get this recipe posted! Thanks, ladies, sometimes I need a little kick in the pants.

Recipes in this post:

• Fudgy Earl Grey Chocolate Cake
• Lavender Ganache
• Basic Cream Cheese Frosting

Related posts:

1. Spicy Chipotle Chocolate Cake
2. Killer Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie Pie
3. Cinnamon Apple Pecan Crumb Bars

As some of you may know, I’m not what one would call a chocoholic. Not even close. I mean, I like chocolate and from time to time I enjoy eating a bite here and there, but generally I never crave chocolate. What I do crave is SPICY. Give me anything spicy and I am one happy hommie. It was my love of spice that inspired this particular recipe and, omg, was it ever a good idea! We’re eating super moist & spicy chipotle chocolate cake with a nutella cream cheese frosting. The frosting on this cake is the perfect soothing creamy element needed to round out such a spicy dessert.

Recipes in this post:

• Spicy Chipotle Chocolate Cake

Related posts:

1. Fudgy Earl Grey Chocolate Cake
2. Killer Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie Pie
3. Cinnamon Apple Pecan Crumb Bars