The Ultimate Birthday Cake

This weekend we had a Birthday in the house! So of course it was a Cook's dream! I love cooking for special occasions. We had a glorious Breakfast. I made German Pancakes with Pineapple on top and a wonderful Cuban Coffee. Yum!! For dinner I made Italian Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage Meat sauce.
And for dessert the Birthday Cake!!! Ahhhh the Birthday cake... It was sublime. It was fantastic. The perfect combination of chocolate, but not too much chocolate. Sweet, but not too sweet. It was the Modern Day version of an Adult "Foodiefied" treat! All I can say is, Yummy.

The Ultimate Birthday Cake

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Cheesecake filling 

topped with a glorious Nutella Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

Cake:

Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup Vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups Water

Filling

16 oz cream cheese (softened)

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup Sugar

Frosting

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup Nutella (softened)

2 Tbsp cream cheese (softened)

1 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 sticks Butter

3 cups Confectioners Sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°

Prepare / Grease (2) 9 inch cake pans

Prepare and Bake Cake per box directions.

Divide cake batter among (2) 9 inch cake pans evenly.

Remove cakes from oven when touched in middle it bounces back.

Do not turn oven off.

Cool cakes on racks 15 minutes.

Move oven racks, leaving one middle rack, and one lowest rack.

Place an oblong baking pan on lower rack. Fill 1/2 - 3/4 with water.

Clean and dry cake pans.

Prepare/Grease cake pans

Line both cake pans edges with parchment paper.

As seen below

Make Filling:

Combine in a mixing bowl the eggs and sugar.

Add cream cheese.

Whip until smooth.

Add vanilla and combine.

Place one of the cakes into a prepared cake pan.

Top each cake with cream cheese filling. (divide evenly)

Be sure to not let filling fall off sides of cake.

Try to maintain an edge of cake.

Bake @ 350° for precisely 30 mins. No more, no less.

Remove from oven, and cool 15 mins.

Remove from pans, gingerly.

(I turned them out onto my hand then to a plate VERY quickly. If you do this and there is a little damage on one of them, no worries. Use that cake as the bottom cake. Remember you're frosting this bad boy.)

Cool cakes completely. Very important.

Frosting:

Combine in a mixing bowl, the Nutella and the milk.

Beat until smooth. Add cream cheese and butter. Beat until smooth.

Add Vanilla. combine.

Add Confectioners Sugar. Whip until fluffy and smooth.

Frosting the Cake:

**Be sure your cakes are completely cooled. The frosting will melt and slide on warm cakes. Yuck...

On completely cooled cakes:

** I piped frosting along the top edge of the bottom layer. Remember where I said to maintain a cake edge without cream cheese? This is where you pipe or spoon frosting. This edge of frosting is what will keep your top layer in place. I did not frost the whole middle. I only edged it. I didn't want to interrupt the cream cheese filling. I then frosted the cake as usual.

And Voila!! The Ultimate Birthday Cake:

The cake is so beautiful and absolutely delicious..and hey it has Nutella!!! 

Can you really go wrong???