Chocolate Robin’s Egg Cake

For the cake:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Blue frosting, recipe follows

To decorate:
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cocoa powder
Chocolate robin’s eggs candies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8″ cake pans. Coat with cocoa powder the way you would typically flour pans.
2. Combine sugar, flour, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add milk, oil and vanilla all at once and beat on medium speed of mixer about two minutes. Stir in the boiling water. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
4. Make frosting, recipe follows, and frost cake.
5. Mix cocoa powder and vanilla extract so that you have a thin brown paste. Dip a tiny culinary paint brush in the cocoa powder mixture and tap the back of the paint brush to splatter the cake. Do this all around until your cake is speckled. Decorate with chocolate robin’s egg candies.

Blue Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp almond extract
2-3 Tbsp milk
Teal or blue food coloring

1. Beat butter with electric mixer until nice and fluffy. Beat in two cups of powdered sugar until incorporated, then add almond extract.
2. Beat in two more cups of powdered sugar until combined. Add a tablespoon of milk and final cup of powdered sugar. Beat in another tablespoon of milk. Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to reach your desired consistency. Add food coloring to reach your desired shade of blue.