I'll admit it was too much for me this time, I had a meltdown and Mr Chris came running because he thought the world was ending. When he realised it was just my cake, he sorted me out with a little pep talk and I was back on my feet refusing to be defeated! What would I do without him?! ♥
Fortunately it came together in the end...
I can't take credit for the design of this cake as it was a Cakey Cake creation. I always search the web for inspiration before starting a cake but I'm determined to start coming up with my own designs - searching for inspiration on the theme as opposed to other cakes that match the theme.
The hills are airbrushed following Cakey Cake's tutorial. This was the part I was most expecting to go wrong but it was the only part that went well. The only mistake I made was creating too much variation in the height of my hills, so when I raised my template to spray again, I couldn't position it without overlapping what I'd already done. The solution was simple, although it took Chris and I an embarrassingly long time to realise it. I made a mark on my template above the highest hill so I would be able to line it up again. Then I drew a new set of hills just slightly above the first ones and running in to the highest one, cut the template again, and placed it back on to the cake. I think it worked well as it makes the hills in the background disappear behind the ones in the front.
Inside is a vanilla sponge and my first attempt at a strawberry swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) filling. This is a lot lighter, fluffier and not as sweet as normal buttercream icing. It passed the taste test but my recipe made a very small amount. It was only just enough for the filling so I ended up making a dark chocolate ganache to frost the cake, which I think overpowered the SMBC. Not to mention I overheated my first batch of ganache and it ended up in the bin. At least I know to increase the quantities for my SMBC next time.
Again this cake is covered with my home made marshmallow fondant. I think I made a mistake this time as the fondant was quite dry before I'd finished adding all the icing sugar. I probably didn't melt my marshmallows enough but I was able to save it by kneading in some store bought fondant to give it more stretch.
As you've probably worked out, I did not enjoy every minute of this cake but the reaction it got made it all worthwhile. I get frustrated when a cake is not going to plan because I want it to be perfect, but when you see how much someone appreciates it, that is what makes it perfect.
When Fred, my father-in-law to be, "got something in his eye" and the rest of us struggled from a similar affliction, I forgot all the disasters and mishaps with this cake and in that moment it became one of my favourites.
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