Macadamia Fudge Torte

I was going through pictures on the camera and found some photos of a cake I just realized I never posted. Rachel, one of my student employees, had a birthday in December, and I made this Macadamia Fudge Torte. We celebrated Rachel's birthday appropriately by singing "Happy Birthday" in our best opera voices, as is our custom, and all enjoyed the cake, Then, Christmas happened...

Now, I'm getting caught up. This is a recipe I wanted to make sure I posted because it's been a family favorite for about fifteen years. In 1996, it was the Pillsbury Bake-Off million dollar grand prize winner. You do have to use a box cake mix, which I am generally opposed to; however, this cake is worth every penny of that million dollars. I've also modified the recipe just slightly. For desserts, I never use "low fat" or "light" ingredients, and I topped the cake off with dulce de leche.

Interestingly, this cake uses pureed pears in the batter. I have no clue why. For all I know, you could easily use applesauce. However, this last time I made the cake, a student came to me and said, "What's that flavor? I think I taste pears." Wow, those are some highly developed taste buds.

This cake is always a showstopper, and it's very easy to make. If I received a dollar for every compliment for this cake, I could actually someday become a millionaire.

Give it a try, and enjoy!

Rachel, the birthday girl, who is also worth a million

I'm salivating. I think I need to make this again.