Free Form Club Sandwich Cake
serves 6-8

4 to 7 inch bread loaves, such as the boules pictured here
1 medium avocado
3/4 cup mayonnaise, divided
Kosher salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
6 to 10 ounces cubed ham
10 small gherkin dill pickles, diced
3 tablespoons butter, softened
6 strips bacon, cooked
8 to 12 slices turkey meat
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

Icing for the Sandwich Cake
8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces sour cream
Kosher salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste

Garnish Options
1 red pepper
6 radishes
1 handful of shredded lettuce
3 tablespoons crumbled bacon
1 bunch parsley (leaves only)

Slice boules into 3/4"to 1" thick slices. Remove crusts with knife. In a small bowl combine avocado and 3 tablespoons mayonnaise. Season with a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic salt and set aside. In a separate bowl combine ham, pickles, remaining mayo, another pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic salt and stir until well mixed. Set aside.

Butter slices of bread with softened (not melted) butter. Place base layer of bread on a plate or piece of parchment paper (for easy transfer to a serving piece later). Add 1/4 of avocado mixture. Next, add half of your bacon and then half your turkey. Add 1/4 more avocado mixture to the bottom side of the next piece of bread. Press second piece of bread down on top. Use a scrap piece of bread to help press things together to avoid getting butter fingers.

Add ham salad mixture and press together. If you happen to have a ring mold this can help, but being gentle with a spoon works fine, too. Layer on your onions and then top piece of bread.

At this point, things might look a little, well, messy. Use a pair of kitchen shears to snip off any stray meat bits that might be hanging out. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream for exterior icing. You can use a hand mixer or soften your cream cheese in the microwave (30 seconds on high and 10 second intervals after that until soft enough to stir the lumps out) first. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic salt).

It's time to ice! Your goal isn't perfection.Your garnishes will cover most mishaps and in the end, it's a cake made of sandwich, so no one will be criticizing your icing job. If it helps, place a wooden skewer through the middle of the cake layers to hold things together.

Ice like a traditional cake and add garnishes. Get creative, look through other ideas online (find lots of reference here) or just wing it (like I did) and trust your gut. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Repeat steps above to create second cake. Once cakes are chilled and icing has "set" cut each cake into 3 to 4 pieces depending on how hungry you are. Serve and enjoy!

Note: This recipe can also make one larger layered cake instead of two smaller ones. Stay under 12" and you'll be alright to use whatever bread you can get your hands on.