My friend Genie (Bunny. Eats. Design) in New Zealand very kindly invited me to participate in a new forum called Our Growing Edge which will be held monthly. It’s content will be defined by our cooking bucket list, so to speak — things that we want to conquer or need to conquer and upon our success (or failure!) we will create a post and link it to her page for the month. This is rather exciting because we all have our arch nemesis in cooking. Please click on over to Genie’s lovely blog (particularly on Tofu Tuesday’s when she showcases her most adorable flop eared bunny).
In early January, my friend Sam (Sweet Samsations) posted a recipe for an Indonesian cake I had never heard of, which is not rare in this very large world of ours, but what caught my eye was the huge quantity of eggs used in this cake, Sweet Samsations uses 30 – THIRTY; I even found one that used 45 eggs! I just can’t imagine buying that many eggs for one recipe. But it is a beloved cake that’s for sure so I knew I had to look around and find a recipe with a more reasonable egg content because I HAD to make it. Fast forward to late January when Genie asked me to participate in Our Growing Edge, I knew what I wanted to make: Indonesian Spekkoek Lapis Legit. Now to find the time to bake it because it’s quite labourious as you bake each layer individually over the other in the same pan.
I landed on Food Network’s Emeril Lagasse’s recipe (didn’t make sense to me either) because his cake only used 12 eggs, and 12 is easily divided into two; I found my recipe, only 6 eggs! I did a quick assessment of the baking container that Emeril’s recipe used and determined that if I halved his recipe it would fit snugly into my 4″ x 6.7″ loaf pan. I didn’t get as many layers as I had hoped, but it still looked nice and it still had good flavour. Emeril suggests to decorate with powered sugar, and I added candied orange peel as garnish. I will serve it with the orange syrup that was the left over from candying the peel.
Indonesian Spekkoek Lapis Legit (Thousand-Layer Spice Cake)
Serves 4-6 depending on how thick you slice it
Ingredients:
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1 tsp ground nutmeg
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1 tsp ground cinnamon
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1 tsp ground allspice
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1 tsp ground mace
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1 tsp ground ginger
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1 tsp anise extract
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170 g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
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1/2 cup granulated sugar
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1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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1/4 tsp salt
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6 large eggs, separated
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2/3 cups all-purpose flour
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2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
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Candied orange peel as garnish
Directions:
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Preheat the broiler (I have this range with two ovens, I used the larger oven with the rack in the lower middle so it’s not too close to the broiler).
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Butter the bottom and sides of a 4″ x 6.7″ loaf pan and line with buttered parchment paper. I left enough of the parchment to go past the top of the pan, so I could use it to lift the cake out when it was done.
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Combine the nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, mace and ginger and set aside.
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Weigh your empty bowl, write down the measurement. In this bowl, cream the softened butter, 1/4 cup of sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until smooth. Fold the flour into the batter with a rubber spatula.
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In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff and shiny but not dry. Fold the whites into the egg yolk mixture, being careful not to over-mix. Divide the batter between 2 bowls. Add combined spices to 1 bowl and stir well.
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Weigh your bowl with the cake batter. Subtract this new weight from the old weight so you know how much your batter weighs and divide in half. Put your second bowl on a scale that can tare and zero it out. Pour half the batter into this bowl (you can see exactly when you reach half on the scale).
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Mix the spices into the second batter along with the anise extract.
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Pour 4-6 tablespoons of the batter into the bottom of the pan and spread out evenly. Sammy suggests to pre-heat the pan, which I didn’t do, but I suspect it makes spreading the batter much easier since my subsequent layers spread easier on the hot layer.
- Bake in a hot broiler for 2 minutes. Watch carefully.
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Pour 4-6 tablespoons of the spiced batter, spreading it over the first layer to form a thin second layer. Place the pan under the preheated broiler for 2 minutes, or until the layer is firm and very lightly browned. Continue until you have exhausted both batters. Emeril noted that the cake typically has between 12 and 15 layers — I ended up with 10, not bad for a first timer!
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Allow the cake cool on a wire rack, turn out onto a cutting board and even up the sides by cutting clean new edges.
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Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with candied orange rind.
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Slice thinly and serve warm or at room temperature with additional orange syrup, if you so desire.
My notes:
- It’s a mildly spiced cake with a predominant butter flavour, I think I might increase the spices a bit more if I make it again because I thought it tasted a bit greasy.
- The butter really does need to be soft so it makes a lovely smooth batter.
- Many Indonesian bakers suggest to press down each layer after you bake it, although I did that, mine bounced right back.
- It’s a very rich cake so you needn’t cut large pieces.
- Next time I may try chocolate and vanilla layers or even vanilla and espresso flavour!
[…] in Our Growing Edge Monthly blogging event; I’ve participated before because I had made the Indonesian Thousand Layer Cake which was pretty out there for me, but since then, I can’t say that I’ve made anything […]
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[…] knew when I made this cake before that I wanted to try it again with different flavours. I made this version for a dinner we had for […]
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Oh WOW Eva, this cake is making my mouth water. I love the spices you have in here and it looks gorgeous!
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Thanks so much Anne, it was a pretty awesome cake. I think I may make it again on the weekend.
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Wow so much work and beautiful. I would love to try it but I do not know if I would have your patience to complete it. Take care, BAM
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Hi Bam, welcome to my blog. Thanks for the lovely compliment. The only patience is waiting, but fortunately, it’s only two minutes per layer!
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THIRTY eggs??? 45?? Whoa… that is some serious chicken-work there. I’m glad you could find something more reasonable Eva – 6 sounds like a much more manageable number!
I, too, have never heard of this cake, which as you say is hardly a surprise, but what an incredible cake it looks! I love the layers. I can totally see how it could indeed be quite time-consuming but totally worth the effort – it’s gorgeous! Great job 🙂
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Thanks Charles, it was fun to try to make something I’d never heard of. Apparently Barb (Profiteroles and Ponytails) tried it in Indonesia several years ago…I’ve got a dinner date with her tomorrow, I’m going to take her a slice to see how ‘authentic’ this version is.
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This is gorgeous Eva. So much work, especially with the measuring, there doesnt look like any room for error. You have a lot of patience. This looks really hard but you have done a lovely job. It looks very neat an 10 layers looks good to me 🙂
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Thank you kindly Genie. I knew when I saw the complex recipe that I wanted to make it for your monthly event, thanks so much for including me. I think I know what I want to make next…I just have to get my courage for it.
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Thanks for sharing and way to push your growing edge!
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How did I miss this post? I actually had this cake when I was in Indonesia, but I’d forgotten all about it. This looks really impressive and delicious!
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Wow, if there is any left over on Monday, I’ll bring a slice so you can taste and tell me how authentic it is! JT absolutely adores it, so I can’t make any promises. I’ll be in touch about meeting up.
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I can make this cake, I am getting about 20 eggs a DAY! c
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Lucky you C, I love to taste farm fresh eggs again. I suspect the eggs we get are probably a week old. I bet your yolks are gorgeous and orange instead of our pale yellow. Sigh.
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Eva, the layers are absolutely perfect and magnificent. What a feat! I love all the butter and spices. Very, very delicious and a work of art!
I hope you don’t mind if I reblog your link on my reblog page?
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Thank you kindly Judy, I would be thrilled if you reblogged my post.
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Those Spekkoek Lapis Legit (Thousand-Layer Spice Cake) have come out so good. Love those neat layers. Beautiful!
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Thanks so much Mallika.
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Thank you so much, welcome to my blog. It was quite a fun cake to make, despite the challenges of the thin layers.
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Eva, your lapis cake is beautiful! :O And I’ve never made one but you’ve inspired me to. I think the egg count is the thing that deterred me 🙂
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Thank you so much Lorraine, yes, the egg count is quite over the top.
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Hi Eva! Great job on your first lapis! So neatly layered 🙂 very impressed that you decided to try making the notorious Indonesian layered cake! Perhaps one day you’ll make one with more eggs hehe. And perhaps even eliminate the whites! The intense number of yolks are one of the defining flavours of the cake 😀 haha love the way you decorated the lapis! Pretty!
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Thanks Sammie, it was a lot of fun to make and it was very moreish to eat! I’m going to try other flavours next time.
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Well Eva, I don’t care how any eggs are in it. I want some. I never came across this in Indonesia, Tom Yum soup is the not thing I discovered. I think this is one of the best looking cakes I’ve seen.
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Hi David, I’ve never been to Indonesia lucky you! One of my favourite soups is Tom Yum. The cake was very entertaining to make, and it does get more flavourful as it ages (made it Saturday and we had a piece last night and even more spicy flavours came through). I may try to make it again with different unconventional flavours.
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Eva this reminds me of the baumkuchen – http://zsuzsaisinthekitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/03/baumkuchen-cake.html – I made for my oldest daughter’s wedding. But mine wasn’t anywhere as neat and even as yours. WOW
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Thank you Zsuzsa, I went to your link and thought your cake was beautiful. My cake was very small and I trimmed the sides so the it would be perfectly square. It was fun to make.
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look at all those layers! Wow- you really outdid yourself with this one. If only I could try it! Wishing we were neighbors right now:)
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Thanks Jessica, I would make one gluten free for you!
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What a perfectly turned out cake Eva! The phrase ‘perfectly groomed’ comes to my mind. Astounding!!
I have hard time beating 2 eggs…45 eggs….wow!
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Thank you kindly Minnie, I was lucky to find this recipe for only twelve eggs so I could easily divide it in half.
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The result is incredible Eva – this cake looks like perfection and I adore the orange peel on top… talk about the perfect garnish complementing the flavours but also providing a lively, colourful contrast. Beautiful! I’ve never heard of 30 to 45 eggs in a cake – lol – really? That does seem like… a lot! 6 sounds like a good compromise and truly I would never know from the looks of this cake that anything was lacking. Orange syrup? Oh my… yum. What a delightful recipe all-around.
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Thanks Kelly, it turned out much better than I had anticipated, or feared! I’m told that the unique flavour of this cake is all about the yolks, I just can’t justify the volume!
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Eva, I’m impressed. Seriously. I cannot imagine producing such a beautiful, neatly layered and shaped cake! I haven’t heard about this cake either, so it sounds also very intriguing, especially with the amount of eggs used. I’m sure you have had an extraordinary tasting experience.
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Thank you kindly Sissi, I am so glad I made it because its such a different process than our normal European cskes. I think I’ll have to put Dobos Torta on my list, my Mom used to make it for my birthday.
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Beautiful looking cake Eva and one that I think I’d slowly savor. 🙂
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Thank you Jed, I noticed last night that the cake is very moreish — it was put done about halfway through eating and then within seconds, picked up to finish it off. I will definitely make it again.
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eva, this just looks perfect! x
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Thanks so much.
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This is amazing, Eva! You’ve got some magic fingers =)
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Thanks SM, it was challenging and quite fun to make.
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I don’t know how you could make your layers any thinner. It looks downright perfect to me!!! Quite an impressive dessert to cross off your bucket list 🙂
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Thanks Liz, it was fun to make. I may have to try to make it with other flavours next time (white and dark chocolate, or even vanilla and espresso).
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That is simply gorgeous!
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Thanks Greg
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Oddly enough, I’m familiar with this cake, Eva. It’s not something you forget once you’ve seen it and read the recipe. Even so, this is one impressive cake, part confection and part construction project, and you did a wonderful job. The layers are perfectly made and stacked. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing something like this — and I’m looking forward to seeing whatever else you have languishing in that bucket! 🙂
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Thanks John, the layers are actually baked on top of one another, so it’s not as much of an assembly, and I did slice the edges off to make them perfectly square. It’s rather rich cake so you need only a thin slice.
I am very glad I made it, I may even make it again! The next thing on my bucket list is to cook a whole duck, I’ve always been afraid of that.
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I know you’ll manage to roast the duck without any problems. Just rotate at least once so the back of the thighs get as golden brown as the tops. And cover the breasts at the beginning or they’ll get too cooked if you like a pink center.
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Great tips, thank you! Have you ever tried boiling them first to render some of the fat? http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roast-duck-recipe/index.html
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I’ve never boiled the ducks first … it reminds me of the Chinese Peking duck technique where boiling hot water is poured over the ducks while they’re rotated and then they’re roasted and basted with that glaze to make the skin shiny and crisp.
However that really doesn’t deal with the differing breast versus thigh cooking times for me. I didn’t find my New Year’s duck particularly fatty as I did prick the skin all over before cooking, especially in the fattier areas.
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Thanks Maria, I did see duck on our no frills for $8.99 so we’ll try it for sure. I’ll check the duck when we bring it home, if it’s not too fatty, we’ll bake it, rotating as you suggested.
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I bought a little duck the last time they were on sale for $1.88/lb and will try to think of something fun to do with it. I look forward to whatever you come up with. 🙂
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Hi Eva! Someone’s on a roll here! I think this is the fourth awesome dessert and looks like they keep getting better and better.
Spicy cake, I love these, just a few weeks I had a Mexican spicy chocolate and it was delicious.
I figured it must have ginger, but what is allspice? Is it a mix of spices? Don’t think I’ve ever encountered that before.
Sounds simple enough, although, thin layers might have trouble keeping the perfect shape, like in your photos. I’ll have to give it a try, it looks lovely.
Thanks for sharing and let’s see a fifth awesome dessert!
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Thank you so much Tudor. Allspice is an actual berry (not a combination of spices as it implies) of flavours similar to cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg with a touch of pepperiness. Let me know if you want me to send you a packet (it comes ground to a powder so it won’t be an issue getting it through customs).
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Hi Eva! Thank you very much for offering to send me a packet.
I’m going to the supermarket later this week and if I cannot find it here, I’ll let you know and send you my address.
Thanks again it’s very nice of you, I’ll have to send you some exotic traditional English ingredients 🙂
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No problem at all Tudor, in fact it would be my pleasure!
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So many thin layers and then that perfect rectangle at the end. My attempt would end up with crumbs everywhere and raggedy edges. I still have to make a dobos torte one day … THEN maybe I’d try something like this. 🙂
Baking such a thin layer of batter under the broiler. Sounds scary.
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Thanks Maria, I cut the edges to make it perfect; the loaf pan sides are angled so the top is slightly wider than the bottom and I wanted square sides.
It really wasn’t scary, you just had to watch it closely as it can burn easily.
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the cake’s layers look incredible Eva, even you said that you want them to be thinner but I still think that they’re already perfect, I truly admire your passion 🙂
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Thank you kindly Trang, the one’s on line do seem a bit thinner, but then it’s a learned skill. Perhaps when I make it again they will be a bit thinner so at least I could get 15 layers.
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Good for you! I agree with Charlie, your layers are so perfect. How many hours did you spend in the kitchen for just this one cake? Do you think it would freeze well?
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Hi Norma, yes I do think it would freeze because it has a lot if fat and it fairly dense. The production took a little over an hour, each layer takes only two minutes to bake, but you really have to be on the ball–can’t take you eyes off it when baking because it could burn and then the entire thing is toast! I’m going to try a savoury version that I’ve had an idea about!
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I love that cake! Seems a little difficult to do though to be honest… Glad you did the dare 🙂 Looks fantastic!
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Thank you kindly Fati, it actually gets better with age. I made it in Saturday but were having it tonight for dessert.
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It sounds like a very courageous event to be a part of. I have many things I fear in the kitchen. I love the look of your cake – your layers are so perfect! I love the sound of all these spices in the cake. Looks delicious, Eva xx
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Thanks Charlie! Now I find that hard to believe, you are one of the most accomplished cooks in our blogging world. I can probably find at least ten things in your blog that I’ve never made because I’m afraid to screw it up! You are an inspiration!
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This looks SUPER! 10 layers! o my…that requires skills and patience!
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Thanks Angie, it was a great recipe to challenge my patience, and I’m so relieved that it actually worked!
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The layers are so professional my friend, this is beautifully made 😀
Cheers
CCU
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Thanks CCU, at first I didn’t think I would make it again, but I’ve got an idea for flavoring and I know I’m going to give it another go!
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