Ingredients:

• 1 box French vanilla cake mix or homemade recipe

For the filling:

• 1 carton (16 oz.) ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. rum extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the frosting:

• 2 cartons ( 8 oz. each) Mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For decorating:

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tbsp. mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Grease and flour 2 9-inch round baking pans. Prepare and bake cake mix according to the package directions. While the cakes are baking, prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 10x sugar, cinnamon, and extracts. Stir until combined, fold in the chopped chocolate. In another bowl, cream together Mascarpone cheese, sugar, milk, and extracts until smooth. Cover and refrigerate both until frosting reaches a spreading consistency and cakes are completely cooled.

When cakes are done baking, allow them to cool for ten minutes in the pans, transfer to a wire rack & cool completely. Once cooled, place one cake layer on a serving plate, spread 1 cup of filling over it evenly. Top with the second cake layer and top with the remaining filling leaving a 1-inch edge around the cake. Frosted sides and edges of the cake with frosting reserving some for decorative purposes. Press the almonds into the side of the cake; pipe swirls of remaining to frost and sprinkle chocolate chips over top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.