To fill or not to fill...

Raspberry Fudge cake

Chocolate mint mousse cake Chocolate Lover's cake

Slicing the layers and adding a filling can turn any cake into an elegant dessert instead of "just a cake." Even the so called self-proclaimed non-cake lover may change his mind with the first bite. Several different flavors and ingredients can be used to fill cakes. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Fudge or fudge nut
• Cream cheese
• Mousse--strawberry, raspberry, chocolate, chocolate mint, peanut butter to name a few
• Fruit fillings--strawberry (best when using fresh strawberries in season), raspberry, lemon, cherry
• Bavarian creme
• Whipped cream--vanilla or chocolate

My specialty cakes always have some kind of yummy filling between the layers. For example my raspberry fudge cake has a layer of fudge filling between layers of raspberry filling in a moist chocolate cake, iced in a delicious buttercream and covered with hand-shaved chocolate curls...yumm! Another is the banana split cake...rich layers of yellow cake with layers of whipped cream with pineapple, fresh strawberries, and bananas, iced with whipped cream and sprinkled with nuts and drizzled with chocolate syrup. Makes you hungry, doesn't it? Next time, try adding a filling to your cake and wait for the compliments!!!