Has anyone made this recipe from her books? I made it substituting splenda for the sugar, in a 9 x 13 pan. It came out extremely dense and only about one inch thick...........was it the splenda or ............???? Almost a brownie instead of cake. I am going to try it again using real sugar and see what the deal is. It really sounds like a good cake.

Joanne

This cake does rise, but not as high as other cakes I have made. I've only ever baked it with sugar and in an 8 inch round. It is a dense cake, kind of like a brownie/cake hybrid. If you let the cake sit for about 24-48 hours the flavor will deepen and it's wonderful.
I've made this cake for an event for over 200 people and they went nuts for it. I didn't add the coconut though for this event like I would normally bake it. I did tear drop cut-outs of a single layer, brushed it with Bourbon and then glazed in ganache. If you take a cut-out of a choc. transfer and put it on top it looks great, I paired mine with a strawberry sauce. Just an idea if you ever need to do a plated dessert or mini's of this.

I would try using 50/50 sugar and splenda instead of straight splenda. In many recipes, sugar does affect the texture of the item you are baking. Splenda sells a 50/50 sugar & splenda blend that they recommend using for baking.

It sounds like it cooked just about right then. I will be sure to double the recipe when I bake it again. This time it will be with sugar. The splenda was for a friend. Thanks.

Joanne