Airsoft Arena Cake

This was Luke's birthday cake this year! He's obsessed with airsoft guns, and loves to suit up and hit the indoor and outdoor arenas near our home. For the cake, I made THE BEST chocolate cake you've ever tasted. It's the same cake I always make for my boys' birthdays. They expect it. Same with the 2-ingredient ganache frosting. I don't want to EVER find out what would happen if I served something else...

For the green "grass", I colored store-bought vanilla icing. For the red brick walls, I used a brick mold and filled it with melted red candy melts. The "fences" are pretzel sticks held together with melted semi-sweet chocolate. The figures are Special Forces Army Combat SWAT Soldier Action Figures with Military Weapons! The BB's are gold sugar pearl sprinkles.

I wanted to add some height to my arena, so I put some brownies on top of the cake and covered them with frosting. You can use anything you want - brownies, cookies, more cake...

Oh, and if you don't want an airsoft-themed cake, you still NEED this cake and frosting in your life.

Airsoft Arena Cake 

For the chocolate cake:
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Greek yogurt (vanilla or plain)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk (I used 2%)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the chocolate ganache frosting:
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well with a whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Fold the mixture into the flour mixture (don't worry if it looks dry, we'll fix that next).
Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and set the pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Simmer until the butter melts completely. Add the hot milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine (start with a wooden spoon or spatula and then switch to a whisk). Whisk until smooth (any clumps of brown sugar should be gone by now, thanks to the hot milk mixture).
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out with little moist bits clinging to it. Cool the pan on a wire rack.
To make the frosting, place the chocolate chips in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it just starts to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 10 minutes - without stirring (stirring cools the ganache too quickly and can make it grainy).
After 10 minutes, gently stir the ganache until the mixture is smooth and glossy, scraping and incorporating the chocolate from the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Transfer the frosting to a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 to 4 minutes. Use the frosting to ice the top and sides of the cake.

Makes one 9x13-inch cake