Lordy, Lordy...

About a month ago, my brother asked me to make my sister-in-law's (his wife's) 40th birthday cake. Just the mere mention of the cake brought loads of fantastic, beautiful, classy ideas to mind because I do know her so well. All of these ideas were to be deflated by his; to make a tombstone cake, all gray and gross, that said, "Here lies Teresa's good years. May they rest in peace." Was he joking? Doesn't matter. He's my brother and I always do what I want, not what he tells me to. (Sidenote: To all of my other clients, I will always do whatever YOU want. Just to be clear.)

I know that Teresa absolutely loves chocolate and her mom made this really great peanut butter frosting that brings her right back to childhood the moment the flavor hits her mouth. THAT was my inspiration. And luckily, I had asked her for the peanut butter frosting recipe a while back, so I already had THE recipe.

I started her cake by making 40 small flowers out of fondant. Although Teresa seemed very "zen" about her birthday, I wanted her cake to be subtle yet whimsicial.

Teresa knew that it was a chocolate cake by the outside view, but I was pleased that she was so surprised by the peanut butter filling. I hope she enjoyed it!

Served with vanilla bean ice cream to, as Teresa would say, "cut down the sweetness", this was a real "keeper". Happy birthday to you, Teresa, my dear sister-in-law!