Erin Mann is baking a new cake every week for a year from the "All Cakes Considered" cookbook and shares her adventures here on AnnArbor.com. Read past columns here.

I opened “All Cakes Considered” this week and turned the pages of the chapter on layer cakes to honey buttercream and apricot jam cake. Like a good baker, I read my recipe thoroughly and learned this cake would be a variation of whipped cream cake. I continued reading the recipe, and discovered that this cake would be frosted with a honey-flavored version of my favorite type of frosting: Swiss meringue buttercream.

This frosting is sheer perfection; it's light and fluffy with a luxurious, silky texture. It's spreadable heaven. If I had to frost every cake I made for the rest of my life with Swiss meringue buttercream I'd die a happy (and plump) woman. This type of buttercream is easy to whip up, is very spreadable (and pipe-able if you're the decorating type) and accepts flavors and colors well. Did I mention it tastes like happiness as it melts in your mouth with each delicious bite?

Now that I've made my point about the frosting, let's talk about this cake, shall we?

I baked the whipped cream cake from last week in two 9-inch round cake pans. I cooled the cakes and cut them into 4 even layers.

Melissa Gray borrowed the Swiss meringue buttercream recipe from Dorie Greenspan who got it by way of Nick Malgieri. Dorie uses this buttercream for her perfect party cake; find the recipe here. (ezrapoundcake.com, search for perfect party cake). For a bit of added flavor and sweetness, "All Cakes Considered" adds 1 1/2 teaspoons honey to the buttercream when the vanilla is added.

I used apricot jam for my cake as suggested but feel free to use your favorite flavor. Perhaps you made some jam from summer berries; that would be wonderful on this cake. Although the recipe calls for 2/3 cup jam, I used my whole jar. There are three layers that need a coating of jam, and jam is delicious, so why skimp? I adorned my finished cake with a few dried apricots.

This cake is impressive. Don't be surprised if your friends ask you for the name of the bakery where you bought it. To this, you can puff out your chest and proudly reply: "I made it myself. From scratch."

Erin Mann is a ruining diets one cake at a time with her weekly baking adventures. Email her at SheGotTheBeat@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter. Facebook users can keep up-to-date with the baking bachelorette by joining the A CAKE A WEEK Facebook group.