I would like anything from a good bakery. My birthday sometimes falls on Thanksgiving and mostly just before or after. I have had my share of supermarket turkey shaped cakes and cakes with pilgrims. I used to ask for ice cream cakes as a kid because they at least had ice cream and usually weren't awful.....The worst was when I was 16. I wanted something grown up and beautiful. My sister talked my boyfriend and my parents into going to a amusement/arcade park for a surprise. The place was a castle themed park called Camelot. All the kids at my school called it "scam-a-lot" I was horrified. When the girl brought out the cake badly frosted and with day glow icing clowns and balloons I asked them to get it boxed and we went home to have ice cream instead. At least none of my friends saw it all. No I am not stealing this from the show Golden Girls. This actually happened to me! I had another cake disaster for my graduation. My sis and I got the freshest ingredients and made a cake from a cake bible cookbook from the library. I had spent a week prior making frosting roses for this masterpiece had saving them in the freezer. We made the cake and tasted the trimmed off parts it was fantastic! The next day we frosted it and that evening when the family tried it it was so dry no one wanted to eat it. After that I always ordered a cake from the European bakery I love in Pasadena. The other cake fail I was involved in was my cousin's wedding. She knew I could do frosting flowers well so she asked me to come over and decorate her wedding cake. She wanted me to use this lavender icing she made. I decorated the whole thing and we set it by the window. After an hour into the reception, the purple icing in the sunlight faded to blue and was melting a little. My part of the family was out drinking and laughing on the grass. My cousin's husband's family was inside being shocked at the drinking going on outside. The cake suddenly started to lean and lucky her husband's brother was sitting close by and grabbed for it. The top 2 tiers were saved but the lower ones crashed. She didn't put in any supports inside. But, great sport that she is, she just laughed and served her husband's family the upper layers and our family the toppled ones. We didn't mind a bit. She's a great gal and can laugh through anything. One of the weddings I can say I really enjoyed. Sliding color changing cake and all. Please no one get a bright colored cake for a birthday. At my granddad's 90th, my aunt ordered a NASA themed cake with dark blue icing. My Grandad worked in the space program after being in the air force during WWII. Everybody had a dark blue tongue and blue teeth. All these old people with blue lips and teeth! I love a simple cake with almond extract and some fresh ripe strawberries or peaches and whipped cream. I had a fantastic cake once made with 4 different pastel fruit flavored layers and also a very good Black Forest cake by a Belgian pastry chef who used to have a bakery in my city but has now retired. I'm too wary to try a special cake again but I love to make pies and decorate cupcakes with fresh flowers.

Joe, I have no idea what makes it "Cuban" but it sounds so good, I don't care LOL! And ghohunter, great explanation about the Opera Cake - I love it! I am attachingthe link to the original recipe for anyone that is interested...... Here is a link that might be useful: Cuban Opera Cake

More for your perusal: CRANBERRY COFFEECAKE 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. almond extract 2 cups flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup sour cream 1 can (8 oz.) whole cranberry sauce 1/2 cup chopped nuts Glaze: 1 cup confectioners sugar 2 Tblsp. milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla Heat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. In large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually add sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well. Mix in almond extract. Stir in flour alternately with sour cream. Pour batter into prepared pan. Spoon cranberry sauce evenly over batter; spread slightly, but do not try to cover batter. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cake pulls slightly away from sides of pan. Drizzle with Glaze. Serve warm. Glaze: Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. CREAM CHEESE & STRAWBERRY COFFEE CAKE 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese or reduced-fat cream cheese, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup seedless strawberry preserves Sifted powdered sugar In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add half of the flour, the eggs, milk, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat for about 2 minutes or until well mixed. Beat in remaining flour on low speed until well mixed. Spread batter evenly in a greased and floured 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Spoon preserves in 8 to 10 portions on top of batter. With a knife, swirl preserves into batter to marble. Bake in a 350° F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar on top. Cut into squares; serve warm. Garnish with fresh mint and strawberries if desired. Makes 12 servings. KILLARNEY CAKE 1/2 cup butter or other shortening 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup sour cream 1 tsp. vanilla Topping: 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Tblsp. cinnamon 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped nuts Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan. Cream sugar and butter. Alternately add eggs and flour with dry ingredients and sour cream. Add vanilla (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter in bottom of pan. Sprinkle with half of topping. Spread other half of batter and sprinkle remaining topping over the top. Bake for 30 minutes. YEASTED CAKE MIX COFFEE CAKE 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) yellow cake mix, divided 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 pkg. Active dry yeast 2/3 cup warm water (120° to 130° F.) 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 can (21 oz.) fruit pie filling of your choice 1/3 cup cold butter Glaze: 1 cup confectioners sugar 1 Tblsp. Corn syrup 1 to 2 Tblsp. Water In a large mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups dry cake mix, flour, yeast, and water until smooth. Stir in eggs until blended. Transfer to a greased 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking dish. Carefully spoon pie filling over top. Place remaining cake mix in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350° F. for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over coffee cake. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Trixie, my deepest apologies. I cannot find the one I actually used. It seems I got it mixed up with the one I found here posted by Marilyn in 2006. Marilyn said she will never use another recipe for Chocolate Cake and I agree. Here is what I remember of mine, and following it is Marilyn's: Ingredients: 1 lb semi-sweet chocolate, chopped 2 sticks butter 8 whole eggs 1 cup Splenda cup strong coffee 1 cup Splenda Glaze: 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate + 3 TBS butter  melt in double boiler Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 2. Generously grease a springform cake pan, including the sides. Line bottom with parchment paper. Line entire pan with heavy duty aluminum foil to make it waterproof. 3. Melt chocolate with butter over barely simmering water. Meanwhile, 4. Beat eggs for about 5 minutes, or until doubled in volume, then add Splenda. 5. When chocolate mixture has melted, add coffee. 6. Carefully fold in about 1/3 of the eggs. Fold until only a few streaks of the egg is showing. Then add another 1/3 using the same procedure, and finally the last third of the eggs. 7. Pour into pan and bake for about 22  25 minutes, or until the sides pull away from the pan. It will look like baked brownies. 8. Cool in the pan, then place pan in refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. 9. 30 minutes before serving, remove from pan and invert onto plate. Spread with glaze to within ¼" of the edge. 10. Slice using a very hot but dry knife. --------------------------------------------------- Marilyn's recipe: I have a really good recipe for flourless chocolate cake but I saw this one in the new Fine Cooking magazine and had to try it because it's so much easier and quicker than mine. This was so good that I will never make my old recipe again! Flourless Chocolate Torte 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (divided) (their recipe called for bitter-sweet) 7 1/2 ounces butter cut into pieces (divided) 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (this was my addition, it just makes chocolate taste more like chocolate.) 5 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon table salt 2 tablespoons water 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Position rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 300°. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9X2-inch round cake pan and line it with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit. Lightly butter the parchment paper and dust it with a little cocoa powder, tap out and discard excess. Melt 12 ounces of the chocolate with 6 ounces (3/4 cup) of the butter over low heat while stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth, stir in espresso powder. Set aside to cool slightly. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and water. Beat on medium high until the mixture is very foamy, pale in color and doubled in volume, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually pour in the chocolate then increase the speed to medium high and continue beating for 30 seconds. Add the cocoa powder and mix on low to medium low just until blended, another 30 seconds. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a pick inserted in the center comes out looking wet with small gooey clumps, 40 to 45 minutes. DonÂt over cook; torte will look soft and not set. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes. If necessary, gently push the edges down to form an even layer. Run a small, thin knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Cover with a cake plate and invert. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Melt remaining 4 ounces of chocolate with remaining 1 1/2 (3 tablespoons) butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Spread the glaze evenly over the cold torte to within 1/4-inch of the edge. Refrigerate until glaze is set, 30 to 40 minutes. To serve, remove torte from refrigerator 30 minutes. Cut into 12 servings using a hot knife (dip knife in very hot water and dry). Here is a picture of it cut. Marilyn