As much as I enjoy creating themed cakes for kids (and big kids, too :0), I find myself more and more yearning for the design freedom allowed when doing a special occasion cake for an adult….

Without the constraints of a picture or character to box in the design, it’s fun to imagine what I’d want in a special birthday cake for myself and then just go for it.

This one is probably my idea of a “perfect” cake for my tastes. And the fact that I made it for a sweet daughter of a dear friend made it even better…

The cake is a 4-layer,  8″ almond sour cream filled with homemade raspberry puree mixed into  creamy, smooth, light, irresistible Swiss merengue buttercream. (Boy, i just LOVE that stuff….can you tell?  I can eat it with a spoon all day…and, I admit, sometimes DO!)

With 4 layers, there’s a lot more filling going on in there…which is always a good thing, right?!

Once I smooth-iced the cake with with more (yummy!) vanilla SMBC, I encrusted the outside with slivered almonds to give that irresistible crunch to every bite. Then I added dollops of creamy buttercream to the top along with fresh raspberries and some more slivered almonds.

I decided it needed some “bling” to really say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”… because even the adults in our lives deserve a special touch (or 2 or 3) on their birthdays.

I made a fondant plaque and covered it with gold edible dust…I was going for an antique-y look, which really came through with the cracked fondant (not entirely planned, but I loved the effect once I brushed it with gold dust).

 

Then I added a few suspended stars for fun!

All in all, my idea of a perfect “adult” special occasion cake….wish I’d get one for my next birthday (Hint, hint, John!)

Hope you had a TERRIFIC birthday, Gina…this one was a real inspiration!!