Amy, There not hard cookie, but somewhat more dense than a regular cake. I would suggest having the 3 pans indicated, and an offset spatula, as it makes this process go much faster. Since there's a small amount of dough of each color & there very thin layers which needs to be spread evenly & the offsite spatulas make easier. Around my house it's not christmas w/o these little treasures. Hope they are what your looking for.

This is always a huge success :-) LOUISIANA JAMBALAYA 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (do NOT substitute) 2 red onions, chopped 5 green onions, chopped 1 large green bell pepper, chopped 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 bay leaves 1 jalapeño chili, finely chopped with seeds 1 Tablespoon Creole Seasoning 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled 2 Tablespoons tomato paste 1 pound andouille sausage or hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces ½ pound small or med. shrimp (precooked) 2 14-1/2-ounce cans chicken broth 1 16-ounce can plum tomatoes, diced, with liquid (or Rotelle) 3 cups long-grain rice Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add red onions, 4 green onions, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, jalapeño, Creole Seasoning, cayenne pepper and oregano. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Mix in tomato paste. Add sausage, shrimp, broth, tomatoes and rice. Bring mixture to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Serves 10. DoesnÂt freeze well.

Ginger, it isn't that pastry cream, but I appreciate you sending me a link. Roselin32, the filling for the Bee Sting Cake might be the right one. I'm going to try a batch tomorrow. The coffee cake was more like a giant yeast danish rather than a cake. Thank you for suggesting I check the Bee Sting Cake. This afternoon my kid sister said she remembered the name of the bakery, Tom's Pastry, and I then I remembered that was the owner's name. Who would have thought a German with a thick accent named Tom. Anyway, she remembered the cream puffs had a cream filling that wasn't whipped cream, but not a custard or a pudding. She said she had a recipe similar at one time, but can't find it. Eeesh!

Maybe this is close to what you are looking for? It is very delicious as a rectangular cake not a round one, but maybe two round layers could be made instead? I think you could omit the walnuts if the cake you remember did not have them in the recipe. Luscious Orange Sponge Cake Cake 1 cup cake flour 1 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 1/2 c. finely ground walnuts 3 eggs 3/4 c. sugar 1/3 c. orange juice 1/2 t. orange extract Confectioners' sugar Grease a 15"x10"x1" jelly roll pan. Line with wax paper and grease. Stir nuts into mixed dry ingredients. Heat oven to 375. Beat eggs 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beat 2 minutes more. Add juice and extract at low speed. Fold in flour mixture. Pour into pan. Bake 15 minutes. Turn out on a towel sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. Cool on rack. Frosting: 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup flour 3 egg yolks 1/4 t. grated orange peel 1/2 cup orange juice 1 TB lemon juice dash salt 3 TB additional orange juice 2 cups whipped cream Combine sugar, flour, egg yolks. Beat well. Stir in rind, juices, salt. Cook on low heat (225) for 20 minutes. Cool. Stir. Cut cake in 3 rectangles 5"x10" each. Sprinkle with the 3 TB orange juice. Fold cooked and cooled orange mixture into cream. Use one-third between the layers. Frost top and sides. (Sprinkle sides with more finely chopped walnuts if desired) Chill before serving.