Barrel Cake In Depth

It has been requested that I blog more about the fun Cake that Stevie and I made for his birthday.  I can't really take any credit for the idea (the internet is a wonderful treasure trove of ideas and creative inspiration) or the ability to make two layers of cake stack nicely without totally crumbling. Both of these were found whilst cruising different creative blogs.  Luckily I managed to remember where I found them  so I can share them with you!

The idea for the cake first came from a friend Thanks (Jamie!) that made one of these for her husband on his birthday. I tracked down her link to the original source, which is here. 

Once I had the idea, it was time to find a way to make it happen. My track record with layer cakes consists of only 2 attempts. With the first attempt, the layers were entirely held together with frosting.  They started to break apart so I used frosting to "glue" them together and hoped for the best. The whole thing was in danger of completely collapsing at any moment.

Don't let those cute peeps deceive you... this baby is hanging on by a thread!

The second attempt has no picture evidence because it didn't even make it to the end of the stacking process. Both of the layers crumbled and I got fed up a threw it in the trash. I don't remember the occasion, but I know we had cupcakes ;)

But all of the has now changed thanks to a lovely lady named Brittany over at Make it and Love it.  A while ago she did a series of guest posts about decorating cakes. A lot of it was working with fondant, which I don't really care to adventure in (we're just doing good if the cake stays together).  But this particular post has changed my life. She gives great steps and it is easy to follow. Just what I need!

So, when I made Steven's cute cake, all I did was follow the instructions of others and it turned out fantastically! Thus restoring my confidence in the kitchen ( at least as far as cake making is concerned).

Good luck if you decide to make this! I know you will do great!

I think it would be so fun to just show up on somebody's doorstep on their birthday with one of these! It is just so visually exciting!