Springtime Floral Birthday Cake

by Miriam Lopez
(Jersey City, New Jersey, USA)

I really wanted to impress my new mother-in-law for her 75th birthday party. I worked for 3 days on this cake to make it extra special for her.
First I made all the different flowers from royal icing with the help of my mother and friend and let dry for 2 days. The day before the party I baked 6 rum cakes-starting with the 10 inch then the 8 inch then the 6 inch. I separated each cake in half and filled it with guava which left each stack with a 4 layer filling separation. I then applied a thin layer of buttercream as a crumb coat. The next morning which was the morning of the party I sat for about 3 hours and piped the basket weave along with the borders.I added all of the flowers along the top rims of the cake layers and added the letters made from fondant and gum paste and numbers with sugar pearls. I finished with leaves to fill in any holes. Lastly added star candles.

The most exciting part of the day was when my mother-in-law saw the cake and loved it. Not only did she feel it was beautiful and delicious but the number 7 from the "75" reminded her of a number 1 which made her feel as young as a 15-year-old on her 75th birthday!