Almond Mocha Cake + House = Success!

We'd been trying to have a sort of house warming shindig for months. We moved into our house in October and have been struggling to get the place in acceptable condition for having people over pretty much ever since. It has been a topic of much stress in our home, since I was pushy mcpushypants and Tim was the only one tall enough and strong enough to do all the things pushy mcpushypants wanted done.

FINALLY, the living room, dining room, and downstairs bathroom were in nice enough condition that we could successfully entertain a small crowd of family members. So, on Saturday, March 5, 2011, we had a awesome little pot luck (with a birthday cake for my big sis). 

As I mentioned below, I wanted to try out this awesome recipe for a pistachio cake, but had no luck finding pistachio extract. So, I opted for one of my favs - almond; delicious and available in extract form at any supermarket you can think of. 

I also followed the guidelines to create a absolutely delicious mocha buttercream. I did not think it was going to be as marvelous as it was. 

My method for baking is a little unconventional  - only because everyone says baking is a "science". I believe in the use of measuring cups/spoons, but I also believe that it's perfectly acceptable to fill a cup roughly 3/4 of the way when the recipe calls for 3/4 cup. 

Because of this [awesome] technique, each cake I bake turns out a little different than the last. This one came out almost like a pound cake. It was so good. It may have been the most delicious cake I have ever made. Easily my favorite so far. 

Last night after we got home from dinner, Tim and I polished it off. There was only about a sixth of the cake left, so it was easy to split. 

I am quite pleased with my new recipe. I would very much like to make it again. 

I burnt the almonds, so I had to use pecans to decorate instead. Oh well.