So this is kind of a funny backstory. A client reached out wanting this specific chocolate cake she saw on my Instagram (swipe right to the last pic). Apparently, she’s a huge chocolate cake enthusiast and wanted to try it but as a whole cake, not in slices like I had posted.
Now here’s the thing alright…
That cake she saw? It wasn’t even made by me! It was from a dessert table I did for my brother’s engagement last year, but that particular chocolate cake? My cousin made it for me. I only did the glazing and finishing touches lol. I posted it along with the other desserts I made, and well… here we are.
The reason I had my cousin make that cake back then is honestly because I’ve never had much luck with baking sponge cakes. They turn out dense, flat, or weird-tasting. Baking traditional cakes has never really been my thing. That’s why I stick to mousse cakes; they behave. 😂
But I couldn’t exactly tell the client “uhhh, sorry, that wasn’t me.” So I decided: okay, let’s give this a shot. I pulled out the recipe my cousin used and compared it with a basic cake recipe I got from a class I took. Turns out, they were pretty much the same. I thought, alright, let’s trust the process.
But when I actually sat down to bake this thing… I was kinda taken aback.
The amount of sugar and oil, whatt?? I’m standing there reading the recipe like:
“Are we sure this is cake? This much fat? This much sugar?? Just a slice of this is gonna send someone straight to heaven, I swear.” 😅
See, with mousse cakes, even the sponge layers barely use oil. Im used to light, delicate textures — mousse creams, fruit inserts, gentle flavours. Not this… full-on, rich, heavy oil-slick of a cake batter. I was genuinely scared: is this how it’s supposed to be?? Should I really be pouring this much oil into a cake? But I was like, let’s just trust the process, alright?
I was literally praying the whole time. Please, just rise properly. Please don’t taste like raw baking powder. Please, just… be cake lol. 😭
AND IT WORKED!! Alhamdulillah 😌
It rose. It tasted good. It was soft, chocolatey, sweet but not too sweet — I even surprised myself. I glazed it, finished it, and honestly, I was happy. I tasted it and thought, “okay… this is actually good. Who am I right now??” 😂
Still, I was so nervous handing it over to the client. I don’t even love cake myself, so I had no idea how a true chocolate cake lover would react. I was bracing for polite disappointment.😬
Instead? She texted me later saying it was ‘the best chocolate cakes she’s ever tasted — she said she could tell the quality of the ingredients (which, honestly, was just my regular stuff… nothing fancy 😅).
Now that felt REALLY good😁
by No_Contribution_4056
21 Comments
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Still gorgeous!👏
It looks delicious! Is the top ganache? How is it so shiny and nice?
It’s beautiful, OP!
Looks incredible!
Who’s is it?
I love your story!! I think a lot of home bakers fail and give up because they do not trust the process and “just cut the sugar a little, nobody in my family likes sugar anyways”, and it completely messes the consistency!
Wow! Those tiny slices look delectable – no wonder she wanted a whole cake!
Looks so beautiful mashallah 🙂
Yup. The amount of fat and sugars can be shocking for people who are used to baking other cakes (Ar, I always bake more cheesecakes than the traditional ones so l feel you BUT that’s what gets the results! The cake looks amazing Mashaa Allah.
Well done, habibti! It looks fabulous 🥰
So pretiful! Jealous of your skill.
Looks beautiful 😍
The decorations on top, what are they?
I think yours looks better than the inspiration pic! Good work!!
“Please just…be cake” is so real, especially when you’re making something for the first time.
Ma shaa Allah, OP, this is fantastic. Dreaming of having a slice!
Well done!!!
these ChatGPT generated posts really are everywhere smh
Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but if I were a paying customer I’d be pretty pissed that the baker didn’t own up to not knowing how to make that kind of cake and using it as an opportunity to experiment. Happy that it all turned out well and the cake looks beautiful, but what if it hadn’t turned out well? That would be a lot of wasted time and ingredients to just get my money back. This is also the reason cakes pictured on your IG, assuming it’s used to promote your business, should be properly credited.
Mashallah sister