The Cherpumple

I can't resist a baking challenge. That's why I loved my time in The Daring Bakers a few years ago. Now, I don't have time for TDB, but I still love to challenge myself in the kitchen on occasion. A few years ago, someone introduced me to this monstrosity of a cake, the Turducken of desserts - the Cherpumple. So named for its CHerry-PUMPkin-apPLE pies baked inside of various cakes, all layered together, it's a huge and obscene dessert. 

Of course, I had to bake it.

A few months ago, we got together with a group of friends for dinner, and I volunteered (as always) to make dessert. Alex teased me about having promised a Cherpumple on various occasions, so I figured this was as good a time as any! I did modify it a little bit, though, as there were only 6 of us at the dinner. I eliminated the pumpkin layer and just made a Cherple. It was MORE than enough! 

There is a lot of information online about baking a Cherpumple, but after doing my research, I decided that this post was the most well-written and informative. It also helped me understand that this was a 2-day undertaking (at least!) and I needed to make sure that there was enough time to do everything. 

I saved myself some stress by doing premade pies and box mix cake, which isn't my favorite, but is cheap and easy. I did make my own cream cheese icing, though. The canned stuff is just too icky. 

Overall, it was tasty...but very rich and a little too much. The flavor of the pie filling blended nicely with the cake, and it was fun to taste everything together. 

If you decide to make a Cherpumple for your next gathering, please take note: 

• This will easily feed at least 12+ people
• The finished product is HEAVY
• You'll need 2 days for baking and assembly
• Cream cheese icing works best. Anything else is too sweet
• Tiny slices are more than enough 

I recommend following VittleMonster's guide for easy instructions! Have fun :-)

Baked, cooled and crumb-coated

 Decorated, and ready for transport! 

Sliced!