Seeking a chocolate layer cake, lots of layers, with rum involved.

This is a childhood memory. A family friend, a lovely woman from Poland, make this cake. It was tall with several layers, possibly standard layers sliced horizontally, and there was rum. I don't know if it was in the batter or the icing, or both. The cake was very dark and very rich. Mrs. G. kept it in the refrigerator and sliced it very thinly to serve. When I was a young adult, I asked for the recipe and she declined to share it because she'd once given it to someone and it was a failure. That person accused her of sabotaging the recipe. From that story, I take it that the cake might be something more complex than a dump cake. (Though dump cakes have their place.) Anyway, every crumb was precious and I'd love to try my hand. Anyone?

Nora
  • Posted by: Nora
  • December 8, 2016
  • 1774 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

drbabs December 14, 2016
It sounds to me like you're describing a dobos torte. Perhaps your family friend made the cake chocolate (it's usually a yellow cake) and added rum to the filling. See if this looks familiar. https://smittenkitchen.com/2011/06/dobos-torte/
 
Nora December 14, 2016
Thank you, friends. Both of your suggestions look delicious, and likely to satisfy my memory. Sad to say, Mrs. G has passed away and I'm not in touch with anyone who might have had access to her recipe file.
 
Nora December 14, 2016
Thank you, friends. Both of your suggestions look delicious, and likely to satisfy my memory. Sad to say, Mrs. G has passed away and I'm not in touch with anyone who might have had access to her recipe file.
 
HalfPint December 12, 2016
This is the closest thing that I could find based on your description,
http://www.grouprecipes.com/109695/polish-black-cake.html

Bear in mind that there are lots of variations of this cake, called murzynek, so Mrs.G's recipe was probably her family's version. Good luck!
 
Lindsay-Jean H. December 12, 2016
This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it does have a lot of layers and involve rum: https://food52.com/recipes/16133-spicy-chocolate-mousse-crepe-cake

Any chance it's possible to try asking Mrs. G again? Or another one of her family members?
 
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