Cherry Dream Cake

Two weeks to the wedding. The pernil shoulders are ordered from the carnicería on Park Street — Don Rafael, who has been my butcher for twenty years, who knows that when Carmen Delgado-Ortiz orders pork, she means the specific shoulder, the specific weight, the specific cut that allows the marinade to penetrate correctly. Don Rafael does not argue with me about pork. Nobody argues with me about pork. This is one of the few areas of life where I have achieved complete and unchallenged authority, and I intend to keep it.

Miguel Jr. and Jenny are hosting a pre-wedding dinner at their house in West Hartford on Saturday — the rehearsal dinner, American-style, which is not something we did in Puerto Rico but which Jenny's family expects and which Carmen Delgado-Ortiz does not refuse because Carmen Delgado-Ortiz has learned that marriage is the merging of two families and two families means two sets of traditions and the table must be big enough for both. Jenny's mother, Diane, is making her famous chicken marsala. I am making arroz con gandules and tostones. The table will hold both. The table always holds both.

David called from Brooklyn on Thursday. He is bringing a cake — not the wedding cake, which is from a bakery in Hartford that Rosa chose, but a groom's cake, a chocolate thing with rum and coffee that David has been developing for weeks and that he describes with the intensity of a man who has found his art form. I said, David, what flavor. He said, Chocolate, rum, espresso, with a guava cream. I said nothing for four seconds, which is the longest I have been silent in David's lifetime. He said, Mami? I said, That sounds like something Abuela Consuelo would have made if Abuela Consuelo had gone to culinary school. He was quiet. I was quiet. We understood each other. That is the highest compliment I know how to give.

Mami called from her apartment on Sunday. She was clear — beautifully, startlingly clear, the way she is sometimes, the fog lifting for an hour or an afternoon and the woman underneath emerging sharp and whole. She said, Carmen, is Rosa's dress white? I said, Yes, Mami. She said, Good. White is correct. And the food? I said, I am making everything. She said, More garlic. I laughed so hard I had to sit down. More garlic. Always more garlic. The woman is eighty-two and fading and she still has opinions about my garlic, and I love her for it with a ferocity that frightens me.

David’s chocolate rum espresso cake with guava cream is still his to perfect — that is his art form, and I would not take it from him. But his call reminded me that a wedding table deserves more than one cake, more than one gesture of sweetness, and that sometimes the best thing a mother can do is show up with something beautiful of her own. This Cherry Dream Cake is what I will bring to the rehearsal dinner, because it is festive and generous and slightly over-the-top, which is exactly right for the occasion — and because Mami, if she were standing in my kitchen, would add more cherries, and she would be correct.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 box (15.25 oz) white cake mix
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling, divided
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan, tapping out any excess flour.
Mix the batter. In a large bowl, combine the white cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, almond extract, and 1 cup of the cherry pie filling. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and well combined.
Bake the cake. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 28–32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, at least 45 minutes.
Make the cream cheese topping. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gently fold in the whipped topping until fully combined and no streaks remain.
Frost the cooled cake. Once the cake is fully cooled, spread the cream cheese whipped topping evenly over the surface using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Add the cherry topping. Spoon the remaining cherry pie filling over the frosted cake, spreading it gently to cover most of the surface. Scatter maraschino cherries across the top for garnish.
Chill before serving. Refrigerate the finished cake for at least 1 hour before slicing. This allows the topping to set and the flavors to meld. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cherry Dream Cake — A Groom’s Cake Worthy of the Highest Compliment