Layered Mocha Cake

375 g butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla 1-1/2 cups white sugar 6 eggs 2-1/4 cup self raising flour (1 cup flour with 2 tsp baking powder) 1/3 cup corn starch 1/3 cup cocoa 1/2 cup milk 1 cup flaked almonds 1/2 cup rum Coffee Cream 1/2 cup custard powder 1/2 cup white sugar 2 cups milk 2 tbsp instant coffee powder 1/4 cup hot water 500 g unsalted butter 1/2 cup white sugar, extra Chocolate Icing 180 g semi sweet chocolate, chopped 180 g unsalted butter

Step 1 Cream butter, vanilla and sugar until ight and fluffy, add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Combine sifted flour, corn starch and cocoa with milk, in 2 batches. Divide cake mixture into 6 equal portions. Spread 1 portion onto greased and floured tin 25 cm x 30 cm. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 min or until lightly browned. Turn onto wire rack to cool. Repeat until you have 6 layers. Brush each layer with rum. Coffee Cream Combine custard pwder and sugar in pot, blend in milk, stir constantly over heat until mixture boils and thickens, cover surfance of mixture with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming, cool, refrigerate. Combine coffe and water, cool. Beat butter and extra sugar in lge bowl until light and fluffy, gradually beat in the cold custard and coffee mixture Place one cake layer on serving platter and cover with 1/2 cup of coffee cream. Continue layering with coffee cream until all cakes are used; do not spread coffee cream on top of cake. Chocolate Icing Melt chocolate and butter over hot water, cool to room temperature, beat with wwoocden spoon until thick and spreadable. Spread top of cake evenly with chocoalte icing. Reserve about 1-1/2 cups of coffee cream for piping and writing. Spread remaining coffee cream around sides of cake. Press toasted almonds evenly over sides of cake.

This was your dads favorite cake. I used to make this for him once a year on his birthday.....It seemed that the longer this cake stayed in the fridge the better it got so I would always try to make it a day ahead. I made some changes to the recipe. Since your dad didn't like coffee I would just add a little kahlua or melted chocolate to the coffee cream, either is good. I also added some raspberry jam to each layer of the cake. I would take raspberry jam and put it through a strainer to get out most of the seeds and then after I brushed the rum, or I would use amaretto, to each cake layer I would put a thin layer of raspberry on top. Your Dad also believed that in some cases "more is better" so I would usually make 1-1/2 recipes of the butter cream. I never did put the almonds on. I didn't think they were really necessary.