Okay so…
I know that generally speaking, you’re not really supposed to brag about how fabulous your cooking is. But that’s too bad, because I’m going to break that rule. Just for right now…
Because I am SO PROUD of this cake! I made it for Ian’s Senior Recital on the cello (which was also beyond fantastic, congratulations, Ian! And thanks for playing Beethoven’s cello sonata in A, it’s my favorite :), and I just had to share it with you. Because it’s sort of like my child. That’s how proud I am! Besides, everyone deserves a little horn-tooting of their own every so often. I’ve actually already posted the recipe on this blog, but this version is like a classier cousin of the one I made before. If you want the recipe, it’s here! This is still one of my favorite cakes: malted chocolate cake, with malted buttercream! The stenciled patterns are done with malt powder. The pictures speak for themselves :)
Wait...are those...cookies?! 
Getting this email made me wish I could play the cello. Not only to produce sonorous sonatas, to pluck along with people with penchants for popular pieces, not even to be friends with awesome mustaches and the people who wear them. No, I wanted to play three cello so that I might have the chocolate cake creation worthy of thousands of hours of practice, of study, of stage fright, and of finger callouses nobody ever thinks to have pity for. You, Spock, are one cool cat, yo.
And hey, Ian must be pretty cool too. :-)
It does look incredibly wonderful! Congrats :D. I know that sonata – it is beautiful.