This was to be my first post....

This cake (Yes, that is a cake...be kind!) is what actually started me down the blogging path.

It all started like this.. (cue the fairy tale-like music)

We were planning a surprise party for Mama Flick, who was moving away. (if I had any idea how to link to her blog, I would do that here...but I don't, so we will just move on)

I like to try new recipes, and I decided that this would be the perfect time to try the beautiful cake that I found on another blog (that I don't know how to link). It was a beautiful cake, with a beautiful name...NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique with Chocolate Marscapone Mousse & Ganache Bittercream Frosting!

I gathered all necessary supplies...(including a few that I had never heard of, and had trouble locating in the grocery store), and began to put together this incredible masterpiece.

All was going well...the cake was pretty simple, although it was unlike any homemade cake I had ever attempted...

It baked up quite prettily, and with a sense of smug satisfaction, I placed both layers on the cooling rack to "rest until cool", before taking them out of the pan.

(cue the "trouble is coming" music...)

Listen closely...when the directions say to let the cake rest until cool...it means completely cool. Not mostly cool, but completely cool. I believe this is where my cake went wrong. I decided it was "cool enough", and inverted (how's that for a fancy word) the bottom layer on my pretty homemade cake plate (ie: piece of cardboard, covered with foil, and a pretty doily). It stuck to the pan a bit, but I continued on, undeterred. Next step...add the marscapone mousse filling, then top with the second layer. I tried....really, I did. It's just that when I tried to invert (there I go again) the second layer, it split right down the middle. I was a little worried, but then I remembered that this cake had a beautiful layer of bittercream ganache on the top...and surely that would cover up the great divide that had now become my top layer.

As I started to pour on the very tasty ganache, I realized (way too late, I must add), that ganache is very runny. It sets up as it cools. (I am sure that I probably knew that at one time, however all knowledge of that was blocked from my memory on this day.)

Let's recap what we have so far....a lovely recipe for a beautiful cake, two layers of said cake on a pretty cake plate, top layer of said cake with an ever increasing crack going through the middle, and now, pools of ganache running all over the pretty homemade cake plate.

My dear friend calls somewhere around this time, and I explain my dilemna. Maybe you could put something around the bottom to cover up the gloppy ganache pools, she suggested. Great idea...but what should I use? Marshmallows? Raspberries? Little round white chocolate melting discs? Yes! That's it!

I have to admit that the little round white discs looked very cute against the dark chocolate cake...and they almost disguised the extra ganache puddled at the bottom of the cake.

The plan was to take the cake to dear friends house and she would get it to the party. Mama Flick had no idea we were having a party (you probably already figured that out...since it was a surprise party...oh, well). She thought I was picking her up for one last coffee before her big move. I figured it would ruin the surprise if I showed up at her house with the beautiful cake in my car, hence...the cake had to be delivered to dear friend.

I loaded up the kiddos, with Rockie in the front seat to hold the cake. At this point, the cake was starting to lean rather badly, but I was confident (or naive enough to believe) that it would survive the trip into town. With everyone buckled up, we started down the road. All was well..."I think we are going to make it", I thought to myself.

Note to self: When transporting a leaning, cracked cake, go around curves verrry slooowly.
"Uh, mom....moooommm!", came the frantic cry from Rockie.

You know where I'm going with this...

I looked over in time to see him trying to hold the (not so) beautiful cake together. He did a noble
job, but there was no hope. I turned the car around and headed home...wondering if the "surprise" of the night would be that there was no dessert. What's a party without dessert? By the time we pulled in the driveway, an idea was beginning to form...how about a trifle? I've seen elegant trifles before...

This was so not what I had in mind for you Mama Flick!

Everyone was nice and said it tasted good...the white chocolate discs hidden inside were a "nice surprise" they said. It made for a good laugh, and a lesson: When life gives you lemons....you can always make a chocolate trifle :), and then write about it in a blog!