Another surprise inside cake

I made this surprise inside cake for our advisee Caelan for his 18th birthday. This recipe is called the vintage cake, from Amanda Rettke's book. I was really pleased that the surprise was truly hidden when it was fully frosted.  The bottom layer is a fudge brownie with a chocolate sauce on top. The top two layers are white cake. The whole thing is topped with cream cheese frosting. 

I'm still working through the beginner level cakes. This fun cake was a nice confidence boost. I loved the overall height of the cake. The brownie layer gave the cake just enough height to make it feel more festive. Caelan and the boys really enjoyed it. 

The brownie layer was pretty chewy and the cake was a bit dense, which made for a pretty heavy cake. It was good sliced thin and served with ice cream

Happy Birthday, Caelan!. 

My First Surprise Inside Cake

This is an entry level cake, but I'm really pleased with the effect. It is a variation of the birthday cake surprise from the book Surprise-Inside Cakes by Amanda Rettke.  I was skeptical about the impact of the colored layers when they were cooling. However, I think the effect was very cute and indeed surprising when I served the cake. 

This fun cake book has sparked my imagination and truly inspired me to try something new. Amanda recommends starting with the easy cakes first. For once in my life I decided to start at the beginning with this colored birthday cake. She has so many great ideas in this book. I'm planning my next cake, a brownie and white cake combo.