The elevation here in Jackson, Wyoming is over 6,000 ft.  This means that while you most likely disregard the high altitude small print on cake mix boxes, I actually have to follow those directions.  I know, cake mixes are old, tired, full of processed, confusing ingredients and taste like chemicals.  But, the idea of baking a cake here has made me so anxious that I only make Funfetti.  And today, the grocery store that I went to to purchase said mix did not have any Funfetti on the shelf.  They had Funfetti icing, but no cake (and no empty spaces on the shelf that could indicate that they were sold out).  So, I bought a different mix that will probably taste both less like chemicals (!) and sparkle confetti surprise parties (sad).

Boxed Cake Mix+Homemade Frosting = Amateur

This cake is for a work birthday celebration for manly men who don't much mind how the dessert came to be as long as it is:

 a. "not lemon/coconut"

 b. "not made with quinoa or flax"

They don't think about if their eggs are organic, their chocolate is from a single origin, or that their cake contains 2% or less of about 50 unpronounceable ingredients.  And I don't really either, but I would like a cake to be made of a cake!  Without all of the unnecessaries.

People have been baking cakes for a long time now, before things were mass produced and able to live on shelves for many many moons.  Even people who live in mountain towns should be able to bake a decent cake.  And they probably do, I just don't know them and would like to figure it out for myself.

 My whole point here is that from now on, I am going to document my attempt to bake from scratch.  I didn't want to begin this effort with an entirely store bought dessert, so I made my first homemade frosting: chocolate ganache.  It seemed like it was going to be a very simple process, and it was!

Step 1: Boil heavy cream, add to semi-sweet chocolate, and stir.  Refrigerate

Chill for a while in fridge while chilling on couch trying to watch VP debates.  

Step 2: Remove from fridge.  Whip!

I have already learned a lesson: if something only has two ingredients, one of which is basically tasteless, make sure the other tastes good.  Admittedly, the chocolate here is not of a high quality.  It's one step above the super generic brand chocolate chips.  It also tastes a bit like wax.  Remember this in the future.