Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting

This month marks the third year baking with The Cake Slice; we will be baking from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. The book have separate chapters from chiffon cakes to pound cakes, butter-based cakes and fruit-based ones, flourless cakes, mousse and ice cream cakes, even chapters on cheesecakes and meringue cakes. I'm very excited to be baking from this book and have many recipes already bookmarked!

I really like that the recipes are written including weight (grams and ounces) along with the volume measurements. American cookbooks are still slow in adapting this type of measuring. When I started measuring ingredients with a kitchen scale a few years back, I noticed a vast improvement on my baking -- and importantly, my baked goods came out with consistent results. (If you don't have one, I highly recommend making an investment and purchasing one; they are not at all expensive). I am just happy to not be wasting time converting measurements and get on to baking when I use this cookbook.

On to our first cake: Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting. A perfect cake to celebrate Autumn. Chunks of apples, tender and still slightly crisp at the same time, along with walnuts make up this cake, warmly perfumed by cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Topped with cream cheese with maple flavoring and dusted with freshly-grated nutmeg for a really decadent slice. It's a simple, unpretentious cake that can be enjoyed anytime.

 

You can read Tish Boyle's blog here: http://www.tishboyle.blogspot.com/
Please follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/tishboyle


Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle
makes one 9-inch square cake, serving 12

181g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
217g (1 cup firmly packed) light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
160ml (2/3 cup) buttermilk*
120g (2 cups) peeled and chopped 1/3-inch pieces Granny Smith* apples
57g (1/2 cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease pan and line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two sides. Butter paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. Place butter in the bowl of mixer and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Slowly add the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until blended and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping sides as needed. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the buttermilk in two additions and mix just until blended. Fold in the apples and walnuts.
4. Transfer batter into pan, smooth the top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and toothpick test is clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack.
5. Frost top of cooled cake with Maple Frosting.

Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
makes 1 1/3 cups

170g (6oz) cream cheese, softened
42g (3 TBSP) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp maple flavoring*
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
115g (1 cup) confectioneres' sugar, sifted

Using paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together at medium speed until smooth. Add extracts, spices and salt. Reduce speed to low, add the confectioners' sugar and beat until well blended. Raise speed to high until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.

*I used homemade whole milk yogurt, Honeycrisp apples and maple syrup.

Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake for The Cake Slice

This will be the last month The Cake Slice will be baking from the book Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. I have not been very active this year with our baking group due to work so made sure I made time this weekend to bake Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake.

It just happens that my mother-in-law was also throwing a small party this weekend and she had put me in charge of desserts. I know that she adores fruits and streusel in her baked goods so made this cake for her.

The recipe asked for blackberries but blueberries or raspberries may also be used. I happen to have all three so decided to put a combination of all three berries. A simple recipe that uses only a little bit of butter with sour cream giving it richness. The batter is spiced by cloves and nutmeg while the streusel has cinnamon along with chopped pecans.

The party got a little hectic but was able to take a quick picture of the desserts table. Along with the Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake front and center, I also baked Peanut Butter & Jelly Mini Muffins, Guava & Cheese Pastries, Leche Flan, Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce, Coconut Sandwich Cookies with Passion fruit Cream and Brownies. My husband joined in the baking fun by making Cream Puffs and Seven-Layer Gelatin.

The cake was quickly eaten even with the assortment of other desserts on the table. I was glad I made time to bake this cake.

The Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake recipe can be seen at Amazon, just click the "look inside" the book function.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake for The Cake Slice

I'm finally baking! Just in time for this month's installment of The Cake Slice. We start off our third year of baking from the book: Cake Keeper Cakes, a promising cookbook filled with different types of cakes: from round ones to loafs, bundts to crumb cakes, chiffon and snacking cakes. I'm excited to get this year started with this book.

The first cake our group chose is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake to keep with the season's baking. October signals Fall and Halloween so a cake with pumpkin is a perfect choice. The addition of chocolate chips and walnuts along with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg truly fits in with the season. A great cake to enjoy with creamy coffee or tea, even a tall glass of milk.

My youngest son requested one without nuts so I obliged him and just added more chocolate chips. This is the picture you see here. (The first loaf were eaten right away that I didn't get a chance to take a picture!) Please see how other members of The Cake Slice did with this cake and get baking, just print the recipe.

The Cake Slice: Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake

This month's cake chosen by The Cake Slice bakers is a very easy and simple cake to whip up. Reminiscent of blueberry scones, it's another pleasant way to enjoy blueberries that are plentiful at the farmers' markets at the moment. I am sure other berries may be used instead of blueberries like blackberries or raspberries. Maybe even chopped-up strawberries, too! And once berry season has passed, no worries because the recipe says frozen (unthawed) blueberries will work as well.


The recipe suggests baking in a 9-inch cake pan but I decided to use a slightly-larger tart pan to give the edges a little fancy :) The only drawback was my cake didn't achieve a certain height. Also, I was afraid the blueberries would sink to the bottom of the pan as it baked so I dusted them with a reserved tablespoon of the flour mixture before folding them in. Since my pan was not deep enough, they created little craters on top!

Besides it's unusual appearance, it was still scrumptious. My kids enjoyed a slice with some milk for an afternoon snack. I'm sure it will also be great with lemon curd, too and a cup of tea. Or maybe enjoy it topped with mascarpone whipped cream and a hot cup of coffee.

Just click Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake recipe to print and visit The Cake Slice Bakers to see their baked creations.

The Cake Slice: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

This month, The Cake Slice is featuring Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. For me, there is nothing better to welcome Spring and the warmer days ahead than with this sunny cake. Usually when an upside-down cake is mentioned, it's assumed it has pineapple. Growing up in the Philippines, pineapples are always eaten at my household since they grow abundantly there. Eating pineapples now always remind of my tropical birthplace and the warm weather; it is one of my favorite fruits.

I am always on the look-out for pineapple upside-down cake recipes and have baked plenty. The recipe for this cake uses canned pineapple but found that fresh pineeapples gives better flavor so opted to use fresh for this recipe.

Peeling a pineapple may be cumbersome for most people but I was taught early by my Dad not to peel so much of the tough skin and then make vertical slits all along the pineapples to cut off the "eyes" that runs deeper into the pineapple flesh. Please visit Jun for a great tutorial about peeling pineapples with lovely photos. Lately, though, I found it even easier to "gouge" the eyes out using the smallest melon baller which left me more pineapple to enjoy. :)



I made the recipe two weeks ago and was eager to try it but I am sorry to say that I have had better ones before. The brown sugar and pineapple topping is prepared like ones I have baked from previous recipes but the cake was dense and a little dry and the flavor a little bland. I really wanted to like this since I LOVE pineapple upside-down cakes but this didn't make me go WOW.

Well, a week passed and Jun posted a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe. It is a recipe from Thomas Keller's newest cookbook ad hoc at home. Thomas Keller has a different take for the pineapple topping. He didn't cook the brown sugar and butter, instead they were creamed together and was spread in bottom of pan, a "pan schmear" which is a totally different way of making it. The pineapples were arranged differently as well, they look so lovely, like a flower. So right away I needed to try this recipe. Between the two recipes, I liked Thomas Keller's recipe better. The cake is light and moist and has a tender crumb.

If you have a pineapple upside-down cake recipe, please let me know for I would sure like to try it. Please visit my fellow Cake Slice Bakers for their pineapple upside-down cake creations.


Please click to print recipe from Southern Cakes
Link to Jun's Pineapple Upside-Down recipe
Link to Jun's tutorial on peeling pineapples

The Cake Slice: Mississippi Mud Cake

Time for cake! This time it's a gooey, sticky, chocolatey one that is so easy to bake. Haven't had time to update my blog due to work. Luckily, I had a day off today and this cake was made in no time at all.




My boys and I were playing Lego while the cake was baking. When it was time to take pictures, the boys thought it would be great for their Lego Star Wars to be in the picture. Then I decided they should be in the picture, too! :)


All that marshmallows was a hit with the kids they didn't even mind the pecans that were in the cake. Overall, a fun cake!

The Cake Slice: White Chocolate Layer Cake

Could you tell I was excited to be baking again with the The Cake Slice Bakers? Having missed the last few months, I am glad to be able to join in and bake this month's pick: White Chocolate Layer Cake. Our group gave an option to decorate the cake to go with the white theme and the holiday season. I was full of ideas until I happen to browse the Martha Stewart Holiday Sweets issue (Any day now, Paula!) that featured an Igloo Cake. I have seen this before from a previous Martha Stewart Living issue and thought it was adorable and tried to decorate mine like it.

The cake consists of three layers made with white chocolate and buttermilk; I baked one of the layers in a rounded bottom bowl that would go on top. The frosting was made with white chocolate and cream cheese. Both components were delicious and went well together. I also made white chocolate mousse for the filling.

Part of the decoration is to make penguins out of marzipan. The Cake Slice have used marzipan in our cake previously so I figured I would give it another try. That's when I got into trouble. I didn't have white gel paste coloring for the bodies of the penguins so decided to use marshmallows. I tinted the marzipan blue for the penguins head and wings and orange for the feet. It started fine but after several minutes my marzipan started drooping. See what I mean?

I thought the marzipan was the culprit so started again and used blue-colored saltwater taffy and orange-colored jelly beans. Got this idea from Hello, Cupcake book my kids would always borrow from the library. I think these fared better, see the rounded heads and bent out wings?


Of course, my kids had a blast helping out with the penguins. And eating them, too! And so did I, cake and all!


The Recipe for White Chocolate Layer Cake can be found in the Southern Cakes book. Happy Holidays to all my fellow Cake Slice Bakers.

The Cake Slice: Pistachio Petit Four Cake

This month, The Cake Slice Bakers chose a cake modeled after petits fours, those tiny creations of cake layered with jam, marzipan, chocolate or fondant and decorated with a piped icing flowers. I was just glad I had to make it on a much bigger scale! This sure was a challenge to me since it was my first time to work with marzipan.


Even though assembling the cake involved many components, it was a thoroughly enjoyable process. It seemed complicated at first so I made sure I organized my work space and everything went smoothly. One hitch, I ran out of marzipan so I didn't get to try on making the roses needed to decorate the top.


The cake has pistachio butter cake layered with a spread of apricot preserves, topped with a disk of marzipan, then a little pouring of dark chocolate ganache. Repeat this two more times then comes my favorite part: pouring a bowlful of bittersweet ganache all over the cake! I find this is the most simple but elegant way to decorate a cake.


Every bite gives you a different dimension of flavor with the bittersweet ganache tying everything together. My kids, who are milk chocolate lovers, didn't even complain about the dark chocolate and everyone else enjoyed it. And why the blue flowers? I think my Kuya (big brother) would like it much better if they weren't pink since I made this for his birthday.


This is the printable recipe for this wonderful cake or just get the book Sky-High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes since all of the cakes are great. Also, please head on over to our blogroll for my fellow bakers' creative interpretation of this cake.

The Cake Slice: Marbled Lemon-Blueberry Butter Cake

The Cake Slice Bakers choice for this month is a cake that features the classic pairing of lemons and blueberries. So delicious, a perfect balance of flavors and I thought all the components are portioned just right.

The cake was very easy to put together. My two alterations to the recipe: 1) I creamed the butter with a reduced amount of sugar (by a half cup), and 2) I doubled the lemon zest (since I didn't have lemon extract). Also, I've been wanting to not make a round cake for awhile now so I baked mine in a half-sheet pan (12 x 18 x 2) and cut into three rectangular pieces for the layers. I had some problems with pouring the blueberry batter needed for the marbling effect. I think I might have poured too much so they look more like splotches than swirls. Kinda reminds me of these. :)


I was a little woried that my lemon-blueberry preserves wont be substantial enough as a filling for the cake (even though I had yielded more than 1 cup) but found it was just the right sweetness (and zing due to the addition of ginger in the preserves) needed to offset the richness of the lemony butter cake.


And I almost goofed on the lemon buttercream frosting. I separated the yolks out and had started to whip the whites. I took a second look at the book for something and noticed the recipe asked for whole eggs! This was a first for me using whole eggs in the frosting. So I took the two egg yolks and placed them in the mixing bowl right away.

This frosting was good overall. I usually double the frosting recipes from the book since I always seem to run out. Probably because my boys always wanting to lick the spatula and beaters when I make them :) This time I'm not sure why I didn't so thinking I would run out I frosted the cake really thinly, like I crumb-coated the cake twice. It turned out to be a good thing since the cake was really buttery already. The thin coat of frosting was all it needed to put it all together, I thought.

This cake went out to my sister who celebrated her birthday last month. The cake was served for dessert after a simple birthday blowout dinner at a Chinese restaurant.


(On a side note: This was also the last solid food I ate before I went on a detox cleanse. That is probably the reason why it's been pretty quiet here in this lil' blog of mine. More on this later. Also, I was called to work for a couple weeks and just found out I am to report to work again tomorrow which will last another 10 days. I miss reading up on all my favorite blogs and hope to back blogging soon.)

Print recipe for Marbled Lemon-Blueberry Butter Cake

The Cake Slice: Pina Colada Cake

The Cake Slice Bakers has done it again! Another great cake from the book we are baking from for a year: Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes. And a perfect cake to celebrate the beginning of summer.

The cake is a lovely interpretation of a tropical drink that combines pineapple juice and coconut milk and boozed up with rum. (Although I made this cake sans booze because of my kids -- it's a virgin cake!) The layers are baked using brown sugar and buttermilk which made them tender and moist. Then moistened some more with a mixture of equal parts pineapple juice and coconut milk (my substitute for rum) before being layered with a jam-like filling of crushed pineapple cooked down with freshly-squeezed lime juice and vanilla.

The cake was frosted with coconut buttercream which gave me some trouble. It also didn't help that I was not making it in my kitchen and had to rely on my in-law's hand mixer (my Kitchen-Aid had made me a spoiled girl. :) ) On my first try, the sugar syrup seized up on me but I still added it to my egg whites which made it lumpy so decided to start over. Second try, the sugar syrup came out okay but when I added the butter, it made me nervous since it wouldn't hold together -- it looked all curdled! I whipped for more than ten minutes and the butter was getting warm so I put in the fridge for several minutes and thought about starting again.

While I was waiting for another batch of sugar syrup to boil, I decided to take the bowl out of the fridge and whip again. After a few minutes, it came together (YAY) so added the coconut milk. (I left out the coconut extract since I don't like the strong smell.) The cake was quickly frosted and served to my patiently-waiting family.


The Pina Colada cocktail usually comes with a paper umbrella so I borrowed that idea when it came to decorating the cake, complete with a chunk of fresh pineapple and cherry. I used a 1M tip when I piped the dots of frosting on top. The sides of the cake was pressed with lightly-toasted coconut shavings.


(My in-laws couldn't make it to his birthday so they decided to throw another party for him. Lucky boy!)

The cake tasted just like a pineapple-upside down cake with added coconut flavor from the frosting. One bite from my brother-in-law and he exclaimed "Hey, this tastes just like Mom's!" Apparently, my mother-in-law baked a pineapple cake so great, she got orders for them. So stories were told on how my MIL would be baking several cakes every day. This happened about 30 years ago so it was fun to hear stories and how food triggers memories.


So guess what, my brother turned 40 three days ago and I baked this cake again per his request. I played around a bit and used Buttermilk Spongecake (page 68) and lightened the pineapple filling with a little freshly-whipped cream and it was a hit, too! Today is my cousin's birthday (Happy Birthday, Katie!) and I'm baking them in cupcake form as I *speak*. I used two different cupcake liners so I can put rum on one and have the other "virgin." More pics later, maybe.

Please stop by my fellow Cake Slice Bakers for their lovely interpretation of this wonderful cake. Print the recipe as well, give it a try and let me know how you like it. Now let's go to the beach!

The Cake Slice: Mile-High Devil's Food Cake

It was my youngest son's birthday this month and all he ever wanted was a treasure chest birthday cake. He got this idea from a kid's cookbook his brother borrowed from the library months ago. As soon as he saw the picture, he told me right away he wanted a "pirate cake" (as he calls it) for his birthday. For weeks, he would ask me if I remember the cake from the cookbook and he would tell his brothers how cool it would be. I couldn't disappoint the little guy.

I've never constructed a "pirate cake" before and never thought I would but I guess, that's one of the little perks motherhood gives you. :) I baked the cake in a sheet pan, cut it into four pieces and layered three to create the base of the treasure chest; the fourth piece was used as the cover.

This month's cake had our choice from two frostings: Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting or Brown Sugar Buttercream. I chose the 7-minute frosting. After I frosted the cake, all my boys (husband included) helped put all the treasures in the cake and I think we went a little overboard (excuse the pun). Chocolate coins, rock candies, ring pops and candy necklaces galore! I even got some candy-coated chocolate chunks that looked just like pebbles and scattered them around the base. It's too bad I couldn't give you guys a better picture, I didn't realize my camera battery died. My sister to the rescue and took pictures with her iphone. This was the most decent one.

The cake was delicious, very chocolate-y and felt light in your mouth. The frosting was sweet like caramel with a hint of molasses. Another cake I'm sure I will be making again. I'd like to use the other frosting (buttercream) with this and compare. I'm sure I'd love it, too! Please visit my fellow bakers at The Cake Slice Bakers for their lovely creations.

Print recipe for Mile-High Devil's Food Cake

The Cake Slice: Chai Cake with Honey-Ginger Cream

Another great pick by the The Cake Slice Bakers! Chai Cake with Honey-Ginger Cream seems so straight-forward and simple but it tasted so much more delicious than it sounds. I love chai tea and was looking forward to having some in cake form.

The cake used milk infused with chai tea plus an addition of some cinnamon and cardamom which made it a nicely spiced cake. Grinding those cardamom pods sure made the kitchen smell terrific. Even more so while the cakes were baking in the oven.


And no whipped cream frosting this time! This month's cake used icing that combined butter and cream cheese with honey and freshly-grated ginger. The Honey-Ginger Cream looked and had the consistency of condensed milk but tasted just as good if not better.

To go with the Indian-theme of the cake, I used some candy-coated fennel seeds and sprinkled them around the base of the cake and around up on top to give it a little color. I hope it distracts you from my horrible icing job! :)


Please visit the rest of the The Cake Slice Bakers for their lovely interpretation of this delectable cake.

Print recipe for Chai Cake with Honey-Ginger Cream

The Cake Slice: Triple Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake

I was really looking forward to baking this cake. (I've been voting for this cake to come up on top for a couple months now.) You see, I have a new found love for sweets featuring bright citrus flavors. Ever since I've made desserts with kalamansi several weeks ago, I am hooked!

Sour flavors has always been prominent in savory dishes in Filipino cooking (a great example is sinigang) so I was not used to eating desserts with a sour flavor. I am finding that lemony desserts are very refreshing which just feels light in your mouth when you eat them (so less weight gain?!? :) Ha, I wish!)

This cake was all I expected: light airy cake with a rich tart filling and the creamy whipped frosting ties it all together. Yum! My Meyer lemon tree in the backyard has produced lots of fruits this year so I substituted them for regular lemons asked for the recipe. I also didn't have walnut oil in my pantry so used peanut oil instead. Now I am curious to see any flavor differences the walnut oil makes. I am planning to buy some when I bake this cake again which is soon, probably for Easter celebration -- it's a perfect cake for Spring!

My sister gave me a set of cake stencils last month so wanted to try them. I used this flower stencil and thinly layered some extra Meyer lemon curd on top and some sprinkles.

Please visit the The Cake Slice Bakers for their creations.
Printable recipe: Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake


P.S. I missed out on last month's bake due to work but I just realized I had baked it before as seen here but used a different frosting. I will bake the cake again with the proper frosting and post it.

The Cake Slice: Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache

Hey there, I'm still here! Just in time for The Cake Slice Bakers' monthly mingle. This month we baked a Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache (whew, that's a mouthful) from the book Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes.

This is basically a white cake flavored with banana and spiced with cinnamon. The recipe asked for 2 cups of sugar which I thought will make a very sweet cake. But I wanted to follow the recipe and I was right, it was too sweet for me.

I'm also not a big fan of white chocolate. It tends to be sweeter compared to regular chocolate (is it because it lacks actual cocoa solids?) but like I said I wanted to follow the recipe so I used it anyway. I used some dark chocolate ganache on a couple of the mini cakes as well just because. :)

And the praline filling? My kids do not like nuts in their cakes so that's why you see them all outside the cake. Well, a few made it on top of the cakes. :) The book says this is an unusual way of making praline; the pecans were doused in sugar and deep-fried! The same thing you would do when making kamote-que so it was not too weird for me. :) In fact, this is the part of the cake I liked best, I couldn't stop munching on these!

I haven't done much baking since the holidays so I was looking forward to this. You can tell I had plenty of fun and made four mini cakes (or four mega petits fours) and decorated each differently:

cake #1 simply frosted, with a little spiral action;
cake #2 covered with dark chocolate ganache, cooled then poured with white chocolate ganache and decorated with praline;
cake #3 is like the the previous cake, order of ganache reversed;

and lastly cake #4, my "doodles" cake, dark chocolate was melted and poured into a squeeze bottle, then used to draw squiggly lines onto a baking sheet, let it harden then press onto sides. (I was trying to duplicate the spun sugar on my Dulce de Leche cake but I ran out of chocolate, oops.)

My kids couldn't decide which cake to slice into first. Which one would you pick?

Please be sure to visit my fellow bakers at The Cake Slice Bakers for the recipe and their own creations. I can't wait to check them out myself. I have learned so much from them these past months and they continually keep me inspired.

The Cake Slice: Chocolate-Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake

A cake tailor-made for the holiday season! The Chocolate-Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake is composed of three layers of sponge cake made from finely ground toasted hazelnuts, graham cracker crumbs and grated chocolate. The cake was moistened with Rum Syrup and filled and frosted with Creme Chantilly.

This is the first time I've seen graham cracker crumbs used in a cake. I thought it was so unusual, I usually see 'em in cheesecake crusts but not in a cake batter. I could only find cinnamon-flavored graham crackers in the market so I omitted the pumpkin pie spice.

The recipe also asked for skinned hazelnuts and I only have raw ones (with skins). So D did some research (read: Google) for me and found you can skin hazelnuts by adding them to boiling water mixed with 3 tablespoons baking soda for 3-4 minutes then drained and put in an ice-bath. The skins will then slip right off. If you do this, be sure to use a larger pot than the one i used (pictured) to avoid a mess on your stove. I didn't realize bubbles will foam up once you add the nuts in the water. The foam almost boiled over and I'm sure it would have made a big mess!

The book noted to frost the cake 6 to 8 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld. So I baked the layers the night before, filled and frosted it the following morning and let it set in the fridge for the day. The cake was served at my big brother's birthday dinner and it was a hit! My cousin, who is a Ferrero Rocher fanatic, already requested this for her birthday.

One more thing, I also omitted the rum in the Rum Syrup because of my kids. Just add the rum to your coffee when you have this cake ;-). Oh, and one more thing, from now on I will start calling vanilla-scented, sweetened whipped cream "Creme Chantilly" -- sounds so much better! I doubled the recipe for Creme Chantilly because (again) of my kids. They can't get enough of this stuff!