Creamy Mojito Cake

I don't do a lot of baking but when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it! It's a two-layer yellow cake with rum, lime, and mint - a tasty slice of mojito right on your plate. The ingredients are pretty simple and the assembly is quick. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

This weekend we had some friends stay with us for the 4th of July holiday. One of them turned out to be a semi-pro baker when she was 12 years old - fantastic! J was a great "blogger's assistant" and was a big help in the kitchen. This cake was 99% her creation - it looked and tasted great. Thanks, J!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow cake box mix (plus ingredients to make cake)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp dark rum, divided
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 3 limes, divided
• 8 oz low-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp mint extract*
• 12 oz cool whip, thawed

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray two cake pans with nonstick spray and then dust with flour to coat evenly. Prepare the yellow cake mix, substituting 1/2 cup rum for 1/2 cup water. Mix batter well so there are no big lumps and then pour evenly into the two cake pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

3. Make the glaze: combine 1/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 tbsp rum.

4. Make the filling: zest two limes using a grater/zester to create 2 tsp of zest. Juice the two limes to equal 3 tbsp juice. In a large bowl, combine the lime zest and juice, cream cheese, mint extract*, and remaining 1 cup powdered sugar. Whisk mixture until smooth. Fold in the cool whip and mix until very thick and evenly distributed. Set 1/2 cup of the filling mixture aside for decorating the cake.

5. When the cakes come out of the oven, let them stand for 5 minutes before removing them from the pans. Invert one of the cakes (flat side up) onto a serving platter/cake plate. Invert the other cake (flat side up) onto a separate plate. Brush both of the cakes with the glaze (use it all!)

6. Slice the remaining lime into 5 slices, and then slice those in half to create 10 pieces. Spread about half of the filling on the bottom cake round on the platter. Carefully place the second cake round on top of the filling (flat side down). Spread the remaining filling over the top of the cakes and the sides. Use a frosting decorator or pastry bag to use the remaining 1/2 cup of filling to pipe rosettes or stars around the cake. Garnish with lime slices.

Serves: 16
WW: 9 pts/slice

*The Pampered Chef recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of mint extract, which was remarkably hard to find. I ended up buying peppermint extract and only used 1/8 tsp. Be careful when adding it to the filling - start with 1/8 tsp and then add more to taste.