A special post-birthday shout-out to my boyfriend Andy who turned 33 this week! While last year we celebrating by exploring the fabulous town of Skaneateles, this year we celebrated by going out to eat at SUMO hibachi and later enjoying his favorite cake – a marble filled with apricot preserves and topped with a rich mocha frosting.

Here’s how to make it:

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

• 1 box of marble cake mix (I’ve mentioned before that the men in my family prefer box-cake. Thankfully, it’s a great solution when you are looking to save time and feature your frosting.)
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs

For the filling:

• 1/2 jar of Smucker’s Apricot Preserves, 18 oz

For the frosting:

• 1 cup salted butter, room temperature (or unsalted, if preferred)
• 2 tbs instant coffee granules
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate– cooled slightly (you can use chocolate chips for this)

DIRECTIONS

1. Bake the cake according to the instructions on the box, using two 9-inch rounds.
2. Let cake cool completely.
3. Spread the apricot preserves over the first round. Be generous, as the cake will absorb the preserves over time.
4. To prepare frosting, whip butter and instant coffee granules together until fluffy.with an electric mixer.
5. Turn mixer to medium/high speed and slowly pour in whipping cream and whip until the mixture is light and fluffy.
6.  Mix in vanilla extract and melted chocolate while whipping on medium/high speed.
7. Turn mixer speed down to medium/low and slowly add in your powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until the frosting has reached your desired thickness.(Tip: If you are using a strong variation of instant coffee, you will want to use the full four cups of sugar to balance the bitterness of the granules.)
8. Gently place the second round of your cake atop the first.
9. Generously apply frosting to the top and sides of your cake.
10. If desired, decorate with chocolate chips and cocoa powder.

Original frosting recipe retrieved from http://www.bakeaholicmama.com/2014/01/chocolate-cake-with-whipped-mocha.html. The recipe has been altered from its original format.