Tropic Aroma Cake

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3/4 cup shortening (or use butter)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 3 tablespoons butter, soft
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar (icing sugar)
• 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 5 tablespoons coffee, strong (or use milk)

Recipe

• 1 grease 3 cake layer tins well, and heat oven to 375 deg f/190 deg c,.
• 2 sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl: the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. (not the cocoa).
• 3 cream the shortening, and beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
• 4 add the sugar a little at a time, beating well. add the beaten eggs; beat in well.
• 5 add half the sifted dry ingredients.
• 6 add the milk. mix well.
• 7 add rest of sifted dry ingredients, and mix well.
• 8 (you might have to eyeball this next step).
• 9 fill 2 greased layer tins, keeping back 1/3 of the batter. tap the tins lightly on the counter to remove air bubbles.
• 10 mix the cocoa powder and warm water (1 tablespoon each), add to the leftover one-third of the batter, and mix in well.
• 11 scrape into the 3rd cake tin.
• 12 bake the layers for 15 - 20 minutes, but test with a skewer before removing from oven.
• 13 cool, and make the filling and icing.
• 14 use the cocoa layer as your middle layer when assembling.
• 15 cream the butter, adding the confectioners' sugar very slowly with the cocoa, and beating very well until really light and fluffy.
• 16 add the vanilla, and then add the coffee 1 tablespoon at a time (in case you do not need 5 tablespoons) until the mixture is soft enough to spread. (if you'd prefer a milder taste, use milk instead of coffee).
• 17 use the layer with the cocoa added as your centre layer.