Everything Cake

My mom turned forty-something on Sunday.

A week before that my dad turned fifty-something.

For his birthday I baked Brown Eyed Baker's Carrot cake. We also bought German Chocolate cake in case my creation turned into a failure. Well, not one person touched that store-bought cake. I felt bad for it, so I ate like a third of it the next day.

Anywho, the point I'm trying to make is that my parents now trust me with dessert. So for mom's birthday my cake was the only baked good in the house. Too bad it couldn't stay for long. Our guests devoured it within 15 minutes. It made me happy. I was also happy with aesthetics of this cake. It actually looked edible.

We're also participating in this lovely thing

This is a very simple recipe. Essentially, the first 6 ingredients are for a basic white cake with a bunch of added flavors. Customize it any way you like
Yields: 6'' bundt cake. Prep time: 15 mins. Bake time: 35 mins

For batter:
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1.5 cups of AP flour
1.5 tsb baking powder
1 tbs of maple syrup
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup of coconut flakes
1 tbs of cognac
Zest and juice of half an orange

1 cup of dulce-de-leche
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1 tsp milk

For glaze:
1 cup of chocolate milk
1 tbs of maple syrup
1 tbs of cream cheese
1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar

1. Beat butter (softened) with sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each.
3. In a separate bowl sift together the flour and baking powder. Then add to the wet mixture all at once. Mix well until flour cannot be seen.
4. Mix in the milk. If you have vanilla extract, add it here too. Otherwise, add almond extract.
5. Add orange zest and juice and mix for about a minute.
6. Pour in maple syrup and cognac. Mix well.
7. Finally, add coconut and incorporate.
8. In a separate bowl mix caramel, cocoa and 1 teaspoon of milk.
9. Spray a 6'' bundt with baking spray. Pour half of the batter in. Then pour in the caramel mixture and even it out with a spatula. Add the rest of the batter and place in a preheated oven to 350F for 35 to 40 minutes.
10. When the cake is done baking, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then take it out of the bundt pan and place it on your serving dish.
11. Mix all of the ingredients for the glaze together. The consistency should not be too thick. Pour it over a warm cake. Top with whatever you like. As you can see, I toasted some coconut flakes and almonds.
12. Let the cake cool down completely before serving.