Man Cake!

Three layers of meatloaf with cheddar cheese filling, and brown sugar, ketchup, balsamic glaze. Frosted with mashed potatoes, and crumbled bacon pressed into the sides. What man wouldn't kill for this cake!

1 Cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped fine
1 lg bell pepper, chopped fine
3 lg eggs, beaten well
1 T hot sauce (I prefer Louisiana Hot Sauce)
2 lbs. ground sirloin
2 lbs. Italian turkey sausage (1 spicy and 1 sweet)
2 T garlic powder
3 cups plain bread crumbs
2 T dried thyme
2 T dried oregano
1/2 Cup fresh chopped parsley
3 T sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped fine
3 T capers
1 Can chopped tomatoes with onion, drained well
1 Cup cheddar cheese
4-5 Cups Creamy mashed potatoes (you may use instant if you wish)
1 Cup crumbled bacon (you can buy REAL crumbled bacon in the condiment aisle of your grocery store)



Preheat oven to 350.

In a small sauce pan simmer: ketchup, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar. Stir well and allow to simmer while you assemble your meat loaves.

Cook onion and bell pepper in oil in a skillet until softened, and allow to cool. In a mixing bowl add: eggs, hot sauce, meat, bread crumbs, thyme, oregano, parsley, capers, tomatoes, and cooled cooked onion and pepper. Mix well. Cook a very small spoonful of the meat, in the same skillet you used for the onions, to check for taste. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Spray 3 identical round pie pans or round cake pans with non-stick spray and shake a small amount of bread crumbs around the pan to keep meatloaf from sticking. Evenly distribute the meat mixture between the three pans. I like to press down the middle of my meatloaf; when they cook the center seems to puff up, so pressing down the center allows the loaf to end up fairly even after cooking. Top each loaf with the glaze. Keep the extra glaze simmering on low, so you can glaze again later.

Place all the loaves in the oven. You may want to place foil or a cookie sheet under the pans to protect from dripping in your oven.

Cook meatloaves 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes (internal temp should be 160.) Allow loaves to cool to room temperature before removing from pan. Place a large plate over pan and carefully flip over meat loaf, carefully slide your first layer of meatloaf onto a cookie sheet. Spoon or brush first layer with glaze and top with half of the cheese. Carefully flip the second layer of waetloaf on to the large plate and use two large spatulas to transfer second layer on top of first layer. Again, spoon or brush glaze over all the outside of the two meat loaves, and top with the rest of the cheese. Carefully place the last meatloaf on top and glaze the entire cake with the last of the glaze. If you are preparing this 'cake' ahead you may wrap this tightly in foil and keep in the fridge until the next day. Otherwise, place the entire meat cake back into the oven for 20-30 minutes to seal the glaze and melt the cheese before frosting, or you may reheat the cake in the oven the next day at 350 for 45 minutes.

While meat cake is in the oven prepare your mashed potatoes. Be sure they are well mashed and extra creamy so they are easy to frost.

Prepare mashed potatoes.

Remove meat cake from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Begin frosting the cake with mashed potatoes. I start with the sides making sure I even out any holes or cracks with the potatoes. Spread the mashed potatoes twice as thick on top as on the sides, so that each slice gets a healthy serving of mashed potatoes. Once the cake is completely covered, you can go back and smooth and even out your frosting.

Finish by carefully pressing the crumbled bacon into the sides of the cake.

Return the entire cake back to the oven until you are ready to serve. ENJOY!