dern it. fudge me to dern.

As with screeching children and headache pain, I can tolerate Will Ferrell in moderation. I really enjoyed some of his SNL characters (Craig the Spartan cheerleader comes to mind), but I've found that it's quite the challenge to sit through one of his movies in its entirety.

One thing to his credit, though, is that the man commits to his characters, as evinced in the skit containing the quote above. Even when those around him are breaking and laughing uncontrollably, he keeps it together. I can appreciate that, even though often the most amusing sketches are the ones in which the cast members lose it.

FUDGE. This is a post about fudge. More specifically, fudge frosting laced with bourbon and pecans. It's rich, folks. It'll make you smack your lips and pine for a glass of cold milk. If you're on a mission to impress a chocolate lover, a bourbon aficionado, a fan of both bourbon and chocolate, or a human being, this frosting should do the trick. Moist and fluffy chocolate cake in the middle ain't too shabby either.

Methinks Ron Burgundy would approve (especially if you use scotch instead of bourbon). (That's a shout-out to you, Little Brother.)

Chocolate Cake with Bourbon Pecan Fudge Frosting
Ingredients:
Chocolate cake:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bourbon pecan fudge frosting:

• 1-1/2 cups butter, room temperature
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 9 cups powdered sugar, sifted, divided use
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 3 cups pecans, finely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease two 9-inch round cake pans; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
To make the frosting, melt together the butter and chocolate. Let cool a bit, then beat in 3 cups of powdered sugar. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and bourbon and mix well, then beat in the remaining 6 cups of powdered sugar and the pecans. If the frosting is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, but don't go crazy--it thickens as it sets up!
I cut both cake layers in half horizontally so there were four layers of cake. You don't have to do this, but if you don't, you'll probably wind up with extra frosting...which isn't necessarily a bad thing.