My first cake... finished!

So, dad's Birthday party was a success - the man who you can usually get nothing by was actually surprised!

The cake was an adventure. Mom baked both layers for me since baking isn't my thing. I convinced her to make a chocolate ganache filling, since we weren't icing it with chocolate icing, like dad wanted. I took one taste of the ganache and knew she had added a secret ingredient - RUM! Needless to say, Mommom's chocolate cake recipe, and mom's ganache made for one heck of a cake.

I abandoned my initial green cake with golf balls idea when I realized that I needed to stick with a color scheme. After debating colors all week, I settled on a tan color fondant to cover the whole cake, with a maroon, yellow and brown argyle print. Overall, I was happy with the final product.

A few things that I learned:
Do NOT use pre-made decorator icing; making my own would have definitely made for easier piping!!

After molding the cereal treats, carve them out for cleaner lines.

Try the steamer for finishing off the cake - I meant to do this once I got it to my parents' house, but completely forgot!

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!