Spumoni Cake

This fun and delicious cake starts with a box of yellow cake mix, batter divided into three, with special additions added to give it the spumoni appeal.

I thought this recipe was lost to me forever.  When my mother used to work in a factory making smoke detectors, her company had an employee newsletter where the company would impart  business news and the employees would share personal news such as marriages, births, and recipes.  It was in one of  those newsletters that I saw this recipe, made it once years and years ago, and then lost my copy.  When my mother recently went into a nursing home, I was the lucky recipient of some of her recipes, and this, happily, was among them.

This cake is easy enough to do, just a little time consuming and perhaps a bit messy because of dividing up the batter and the addition of added ingredients, but when it all comes together and you serve it, the effort is worth the smiles.

I suggest reading through the recipe first to see what needs to be added for each layer.

Spumoni Cake

Mix together, until well blended:
1 package (18.5 ounce) white or yellow cake mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces sour cream
1 small package vanilla instant pudding (either instant or regular is okay)

Divide batter into three bowls.

To bowl 1, add:
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or peacans
4 ot 6 drops green food coloring
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

To bowl 2, add:
1 jar (4 ounces) cut up marachino cherries
5 or 6 drops red food coloring

To bowl 3, add:
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

To assemble cake:  Grease one large tube or bundt pan.  Into this pan pour all the green batter, then the red batter, and then the chocolate.  Be sure not to swirl the batter.  Bake at 350*F for 50-60 minutes.  Test with a toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean after being inserted in center of cake, the cake is done.  Cool slightly andturn upside down onto platter.  When cool, drizzle with chocolate icing.

I made a sour cream ganache to go with this because I didn't have whipping cream on hand to make the classic recipe.  Boy, it was, shall we say, interesting, smiles.  It seemed like a good idea, but the sour cream was too tangy and just didn't go well with the bitter sweet chocolate.  Won't be making that again!