Mother's day/My Birthday cake

As much as I believe that one should not make their own birthday cake, and that food always tastes better when someone else makes it, I have a very hard time believing that a cake bought from the supermarket would even come close to something I would make myself. Considering my birthday fell on Mother's day this year, as it does every so often, I kept the mentality that this cake was for that occasion more than my own birthday.To be fair, my parents DID bring a little, chocolate, store bought cake to my birthday celebration. So technically, I didn't really make my own birthday cake, right?

I wanted to make something springy, so when I found the recipe for this lemon-marshmallow cake, I knew it would be perfect. I have a weakness for marshmallow and my mom loves lemon, so this cake was ideal for the occasion. I admit, I used a box mix for the cake itself. Didn't have the motivation or time to make a lemon cake from scratch. I did, however, alter it to make it a little healthier (though the filling and topping kind of cancel this out). The layers were brushed with a lemon/sugar-water solution, and then stacked with seedless raspberry preserves and a lemon curd/whipped cream filling. One thing I learned with making this cake: gravity + sugar solution= cake layers flattening out. All of the layers started out the same size, but the bottom ones got a bit squished from being so moist and bearing the weight of the cake.

My favorite part about this cake was the topping. Marshmallow cream, instead of icing, swirled on top. The best part? I got to use a tiny little torch to toast the marshmallow swirls. I absolutely love the presentation of this cake.