Chocolate Cake and Gyros

I'm not usually inspired to cook from what I see in the bathroom, but this week I was. Mike's stepdad is "helping" us redo the tile in our shower. (And by "helping", I mean he is doing all the work and we're mostly watching but also learning). As I was smoothing the thick, creamy adhesive over the bare cement board in the shower I couldn't help but get a craving for frosting. I knew I had to bake a cake.

I've been wanting to try Dreena Burton's Triple Layer Chocolate Cream Cake. I'm always on the lookout for cakes and other baked goods that are decadent but not too oily or sugary. This recipe for frosting only has a bit of maple syrup and melted chocolate chips for sweeteners and the cake only has 1/4 cup of oil. That's pretty good for a huge, rich three layer chocolate cake. But I only have 2 round cake pans, so mine is only 2 layers. But they're big layers!

The batter is delicious.

The cake is delicious.

The inside shot.

My Dad is visiting this weekend and I wanted to cook something really tasty to precede the chocolate cake, but I didn't have a ton of time. And I wasn't inspired until Mike was bragging about the awesome gyro he had at the Seward Cafe this afternoon. I decided that I needed a gyro today, too.

I used Holy Land bread, made a tsaziki sauce of Wildwood plain soy yogurt, cucumber, dill, minced onion, and a splash of vinegar, and topped it with thinly sliced seitan, onions, and peppers and lettuce. Oh, and a head of minced garlic is all over that seitan.

On the side I served a quick tabouli with bulgar, tomato, parsley, onion, cucumber, lemon juice, and flax oil. The dolmas are from a can, which I am ashamed to admit. I'll make them from scratch next time.