Today I came across a wonderful cake that incorporates a little bit of this and that. While surfing for a cake to prepare for a birthday party I found this recipe at Picky Palate. I love Jenny’s site and her recipes. I had nearly all of the ingredients so after a quick trek to the store, I was off to bake. The differences that I made were not using the brownie layer (more on that in a minute) and adding a layer of cherry pie filling under the cheesecake layer. For the frosting I prepared a chocolate buttercream frosting from Recipezaar. With over 300 positive reviews I knew I could count on this recipe. I doubled it for this cake.

Now as for the brownie layer in the cake, I had to omit it due to the massive size of the cake. I’m sure that it would make a wonderful addition, but next time I will bake the brownie layer in two pans, so I can easily only use a layer of 1/2 the height. So I am going to make brownie pops tomorrow with the brownie batch.

So, now for the how to:

• 2 – 8 oz packages softened cream cheese
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 brownie mix 9×13 inch size (I baked but didnt use in this cake)
• 1 chocolate cake mix
• Chocolate Frosting Recipe, prepared

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese and sugar into a stand or electric mixer bowl. Beat until softened. Beat in the eggs until smooth. Pour into a wax paper lined and greased 9 inch springformpan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until middle is set and not jiggly. Remove and let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight or for 2-3 hours. Carefully remove sides and transfer to wax paper. **I placed the cheesecake in the freezer for about 30 minutes before removing from pan.

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and divide evenly into a wax paper lined and greased 9 inch cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely then carefully turn over onto wax paper; set aside.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions and pour into 2 wax paper lined 9 inch cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely then carefully turn over onto wax paper; set aside.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tbl vanilla
• 1/2 – 2/3 cup milk
• 5 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Cream the butter in stand mixer. Add the cocoa and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and milk alternately ending with the sugar. depending on the consistency you are looking for, you may not need 2/3 cup of milk, so don’t dump it all at once.

Putting it all together: (without the brownie layer)

Trim domed part of both cakes. Place one layer of cake, trimmed side down on serving plate and frost. Place a thin layer of the pie filling on top of frosting then top with cheesecake layer. Add another layer of pie filling then a layer of frosting. Place other cake layer cut size down, on top of the cake and finish frosting completely. Refrigerate to set the cake. Keep leftovers refrigerated.