"Lauren"

I made this cake as a birthday cake for my friend/co-worker's 22nd birthday/going away party cake. I used one box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix, prepared as the box said, but used the cherry juice from a small jar of maraschinos and added water to it to get to the amount needed. Divided the batter into 2 parts and baked them in 8" round pans for 40 minutes. I made the whipped cream frosting from scratch. Whisk on high until stiff peaks form. I leveled the cakes, filled with whipped cream and sliced cherries, inverted the second cake on top and finished with the rest of the whipped cream. I used tip 4B to make the shells around the top and bottom, the Happy Bday and topped with the remaining cherries. I am highly impressed with the thickness and spread-ability of the frosting. I didn't need to crumb coat. Just slapped it on there and smoothed it out. I picked out what little crumbs did surface with a toothpick.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Smooth sides and nice shell work. Proud of myself for that.

P.S. I ate the remaining 3/4 cup of frosting and boy is that stuff delish!

Whipped Cream Frosting

3 cups heavy whipping cream

5 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp Wilton color flow mix

2 tbsp UV Cake flavored vodka

Whisk heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until combined. The color flow mix helped to make a stiffer whipped cream that didn't melt.