Almond Joy for Bri

Yesterday was my coworkers birthday, so I made her a cake. Although she requested an Almond Joy Cake, which neither one of us ever had or saw, I decided to take on the challenge. As a novice that's looking to get better, I saw this as an opportunity to practice as well as do something for my co-worker whom I like; she's cool!

Before I started the challenge I did a few Google searches hoping that I could find a recipe or picture to make this whole thing easier on myself. Unfortunately, I found NOTHING. Therefore, I had to improvise and I had to do it damn well. The last thing I wanted, was to bring in a cake that was just awful.

As I prepared her cake I also, worked on a much, much, much smaller version. Her version was 4 layers of chocolate and vanilla cake. My version was only 2 layers, which was fine b/c it's only purpose was for me to eat at the end, to ensure I was satisfied with what I'd be serving. Each layer of cake was brushed with a simple syrup that included almond extract. In between each layer was Italian Meringue Buttercream with coconut flakes. Then dark chocolate ganache was used to coat the cake, which was finished off with almonds and buttercream (w/o coconut).

I was very happy the next day to find that the birthday girl (as well as others) were delighted with the cake as well. They seemed to be very impressed with the taste, with the decorations, as well as the presentation (the dolly and the box). This made me, the novice, very satisfied and eager for the next birthday!