This is a PB&J Chocolate cake: a three layer chocolate cake with peanut butter and raspberry jam filling. I opted not to frost it and was going for a certain look.
Does anyone know the proper term or technique for cakes that have smeared frosting like this (besides “smeared frosting”)? They are not quite naked cakes, but seem to be a shoot off of that trend. I’m also curious if anyone has a remedy for how to slice and serve tall-ish cakes with multiple cake layers to keep them straight and upright. These cake slices were leaning like crazy. I even put skewers in a slice, and it still leaned.
Also, does anyone have tips, or know how to make the filling layers a little neater and more distinct? I made a peanut butter/cream cheese/confectioner’s sugar/vanilla extract mixture and a raspberry coulis/raspberry jam mixture, and used a hot knife, but I wanted it to be more separate and distinct than it is.
Please feel free to chime in. I welcome constructive criticism and even harsh, constructive criticism. My goal is to get better at making and serving taller cakes, and to make them better looking while serving them.
I also welcome your thoughts on this kind of design. Don’t be shy, even if you are not a fan, and why. I mean it. I will not think less of you, I promise.
I’ll start:
I don’t think the smeared or close to naked look of the cakes offer enough frosting. The frosting to cake ratio is not where it should be, so when it is eaten, it might feel like one needs more frosting with every bite. The cake might dry out faster without the protection of the frosting in a cold, drying environment like the fridge. I’d even say that the sturdiness issue I had of the cake slices leaning might even be due to the lack of frosting to anchor it down.
DAVE BAKES 
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