1. To make the cake, start out with preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease two 9-inch round cake pans – you can also use parchment paper instead of the grease.
2. Use a medium-sized bowl and add flour, baking powder, and salt – whisk it all to mix it well using the whisk attachment on medium speed.Tip: If you have a food processor, use that to make things easier. 
3. Take a large mixing bowl and add eggs and granulated sugar to it, mix it well with an electric mixer on high speed until the mix is pale and thick – it’ll take about 5 minutes for this.
4. Next, gently fold the melted butter into the mix and pour milk and vanilla extract after, once done, add the dry flour mix from step 2 gradually into the wet ingredients while mixing. 
5. Once everything is well mixed together, device the cake batter evenly across the both cake pans and smoothen out the top of the cake with a wooden spoon – bake it in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes – feel free to jump to step 7 to start with the rum while your cake is baking!
   
   Tip: You can check if the cake is done by sticking a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean, it’s done!
6. Once the cake is done, allow the cake pans to cool off at room temperature for about 10 minutes before you transfer them to a wire rack to cool off completely.
7. To prepare the rum syrup, take a small saucepan and add water and sugar to it – bring it to a boil and stir it until all the sugar is fully dissolved, then take it off the heat and let it cool slightly.
8. Stir the rum mixture, if you want less rum syrup, you can reduce it more. If you want more of it, you may not want to keep it on the heat for too long.
9. For the pastry cream, take a medium saucepan and add the milk and half the sugar to it over medium heat – just enough for it to steam but not boil. 
10. In a separate small bowl, whisk egg yolks with the remaining sugar until it’s light and fluffy, then add cornstarch and mix it all until it’s smooth.
11. Gradually add the warm milk into the egg mixture in the small bowl to temper the eggs as you continue to whisk, then return it back to the sauce pan and continue to cook it over medium heat as you’re whisking until it fully thickens.
12. Once thick, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then transfer to a new bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap to chill in the refrigerator – to prevent a skin from forming, you can press the wrap directly into the surface of the cream, so let it be a little loose.
13. Once everything cooled down, use a serrated knife to level the cakes if needed. 
14. Place the first layer of the cake on a serving plate and generously brush with rum syrup, then spread a thick layer of vanilla pastry cream over it before you add the second cake layer on top of the cake and brush some more rum syrup on it. 
15. Meanwhile, use a chilled bowl and beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until it’s stiff.
16. To decorate the cake, add the frosting on top and the sides of the cake with the whipped cream frosting from step 15, then garnish with some chopped nuts, chocolate shavings, and maraschino cherries.

Lastly, put the cake in the fridge and refrigerator for at least an hour, so the flavors have time to meld together – then, serve this moist and creamy cake chilled!