I was thumbing through a church cookbook and came across this recipe, submitted by Clarice Gorton. Anyone that knows me, knows that I don’t favor cakes made from a mix…just my personal preference. However, occasionally, I’ll come across a recipe that intrigues me, as this one did. I tried it, we liked it, so here’s the recipe. The only thing I changed was the amounts of extracts. The original recipe called for double the amount which I found overbearing. Also, I added the expresso powder to the chocolate batter as it raises the chocolate flavor a notch or two. That is totally optional, but I do recommend it. I frosted the cake with my vanilla buttercream frosting (see separate recipe on this site), using almond extract instead of the vanilla extract. Thank you Clarice for sharing this yummy recipe!

Spumoni Cake

Recipe by Diane BeckerCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

servings

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix (16.25 oz)
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz)
4 large eggs
¾ cup water
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract (divided)
10 drops red food coloring
¼ cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
8 drops green food coloring
¼ cup pistachio nuts, chopped
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon expresso powder (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9×13 inch pan and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake mix and instant pudding mix.
Make a well in the center of the mix and add the eggs, water, vegetable oil and sour cream. Mix until well incorporated.
Using 3 bowls, separate the batter into three equal parts.
In the first bowl, add ½ teaspoon almond extract, 10 drops red food coloring and the chopped maraschino cherries. Mix until well incorporated.
In the second bowl, add the 8 drops of green food coloring, ½ teaspoon almond extract and the chopped pistachio nuts. Mix until well incorporated.
In the third bowl, add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, the cocoa powder and expresso powder (if desired). Mix until well incorporated.
Drop the batter into the 9×13 inch pan by the spoonful, alternating the different flavors so that each piece of cake will have all three flavors in a somewhat “marbled” pattern.
10..Tap pan on counter to fill in any gaps
11.. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
12. Cool thoroughly.
13. Frost with buttercream frosting (see separate recipe on site) and refrigerate until ready to serve.