Mom's Birthday Cake

This is easily the best cake I ever ate. 

I got this idea from a picture in a cake magazine and improvised the recipes. The cake was a white almond sour cream cake and for the icing I made a swiss meringue buttercream and threw in a cup of mascarpone cheese. I wasn't sure what it would turn out like since I'd never strayed from a recipe before, but the icing turned out light, fluffy and delicious!

This was my first time using a syrup on a cake to add moisture. The syrup is made by simmering sugar, water, and flavouring and letting it cool. The layers consist of a layer of cake brushed with syrup, a generous layer of buttercream, a layer of jam (I used mixed berry), and fresh chopped berries. For the top I used whole berries and mint as a garnish.

The design of this cake was a bit of a departure from my previous cakes as it's intended to look rustic. I must admit it was nice to not have to perfect the frosting and be ok with it looking messy :). 

This cake tasted so good even Ryan liked it and he hates fruity desserts!

What I learned:

• that I can improvise a frosting and still get good results (yay!)
• syrup is easy to make & use and makes the cake super moist

What I would do differently:

• I actually can't think of anything I would change about this one. It was yummy!