American Baker in Germany

This cake was a semi-spontaneous endeavor. I knew a friend of mine had a birthday coming up. We had had a discussion about funfetti cake before I conquered the challenge and she mentioned how much she loved it. So when I figured it out, I knew I eventually had to make her a funfetti cake. Her birthday was the perfect excuse. I baked a 7 inch funfetti cake and it ended up over 2 inches deep.  I loved the color, but I wasn't a fan of the browning on the outside. So I cut the dark outside off very carefully.  Then I cut the deep cake into two layers.  I realized, however, that the cake wouldn't quite fit in my carrier. So I trimmed off a strip from either side.  I placed the first layer on a piece of cardboard trimmed to size and covered with tin foil. Then I filled it with vanilla American buttercream.  I added the second layer.  And crumb coated the cake.  I wanted to write Happy Birthday on the cake, so I got out my Happy Birthday ...

This is a cake my friend asked me for months before her 30th birthday. She asked me if I could make her a dragon cake. I was very nervous, but I told her I would try my best. After looking at lots of pictures of dragons, I realized there were many different kinds of dragons. Puff the magic dragon. Chinese New Year dragon. Dungeons and Dragons. How to Tame a Dragon. Lots of ways this cake could go. I asked my friend what kind of dragon, and she preferred the dungeons and dragons version. I told her it was hard to make a decent dragon out of cake, so I suggested making a castle out of cake and a dragon topper. She was happy with that. The cake itself should be chocolate. I know that she loves color, so I suggested doing rainbow colored buttercream, since chocolate cake isn't terribly colorful. She loved the idea. I started preparation about a week before her birthday. I baked the cake and made the dragon out of rice krispie treats. Real rice krispies are hard to find in Germany...