Chocolate "Sponge" Cake

A friend of mine placed an order for a birthday cake for her son. Her requirements were simple enough: she needed it for the 11th of October (and she placed her order more than a month in advance) and her son likes chocolate. Stay away from the fruits, just chocolate. Then came the challenging bit: "My son likes dinosaurs"..

Right. So I have to create a dinosaur-themed chocolate cake for a 5-year-old kid. Boys at that age probably will not fancy the docile looking brontosaurus (the long-necked one which would make my life a LOT easier) but would perhaps go for the more aggresive T-Rex with claws and teeth. *rawr* A T-Rex will be a LITTLE bit more challenging because (a) it has teeth (b) it has claws (c) it has stripey patterns on the back, all of which may prove to be a bit of a challenge. I've been trying to come up with ideas for the past few days and think I've come up with a feasible plan..

But first, I have to practice making a chocolate cake. I found this recipe which used a certain ingredient which I've discovered during one of my other baking experiments.. This "secret" ingredient is what makes a cake SUPER moist and soft but at the same time solid.. So I baked away and here's what came out of the oven..


I've passed the cake around to be tested and so far the comments were great! Yeay! I've received comments that the cake is really moist and although it looks like a sponge cake, it doesn't have the consistency of a sponge cake - it was a lot more moist and firm compared to a sponge cake. Another person asked me if it was a caramel chocolate cake! :) As you can see, I'm really pleased with the outcome..

Now, I'll continue thinking about the decorations for the cake and will put up pictures of it once it's done. It'll be a test to my (non-existant) artistic skills, and not to mention my patience. But I always like a challenge and I hope the dinosaur will look like a dinosaur of some sort and the kids will love the cake!

p/s: Will put the recipe for this cake at some point.. In the mean time, will let you guys ponder about the "secret" ingredient.. Cherio!