Curious George

Here was a fun project for a little girl's first birthday. Curious George! A cartoon character who is very active and curious and for the most part caused trouble and yet loved by kids.

The cake is chocolate and frosted with Vanilla Buttercream.

If you're ever curious about decorating cakes here is quick walk through of how they are made and assembled:

- first bake the cake layers and trim them once they are cooled and ready to be assembled
- prepare the filling and frosting. Some fillings are best used as soon as they are made, and so are some frostings
- gather your tools - a sturdy cake board, a turn table, spatulas, piping tips and bags, food colors and etc.
- to refresh your cake and keep it moist, prepare a simple syrup of 1 part sugar and 2 parts water to brush on the cake
-  make sure that your cakes have the same thickness and are fairly even is height
- Layering - spread an even amount of filling between each layers and make sure that cakes are in place, lightly press the center just to adhere the layers to the filling, check the sides of the cake as well to make sure they are even. And don't forget to brush the cake with simple syrup before spreading the filling
-  Give yourself ample time to decorate. Once you've layered the cake put it in the fridge to allow the filling to set, this stabilize the layers and it is held in place
- start frosting the sides giving it a light coat of frosting, let it set again, and then go for a second round to make even thickness of frosting.

Frosting cakes is like doing masonry work.  Its very engaging and requires concentration and patience. The thing with decorating a cake is to have a good idea of how your are going to assemble, and finishing it.