I’m baking for this week’s Illustration Friday challenge: Layer. How about a nine-layer chocolate cake?

You can tell this is an old recipe since the first ingredient reads “1 cup fat”. Almost makes the idea of chocolate cake less appealing. Almost.

Commercial or not, Valentines day is one of my favorite holidays. Perhaps because of the amount of sugar + chocolate involved. Even if one just recently found their way back to the treadmill, you have to partake in some of that. I mean seriously. Enjoy your day.

I was honored when Joanne Gilbert, a contributor over at the blog, Oh My! Handmade Goodness, contacted me about using my art (above) to illustrate her most recent entry. Check out Handmade Here: Creating Your Local Life which speaks to artists who are often invisible in their local communities. The article also offers suggestions to becoming visible and reaping the rewards of being known as an artist in your own territory. It’s definitely worth a read. Thanks Joanne!

In case you’re wondering where I’ve been, this cake took a really long time. I’m exaggerating a bit (since said blocks were eaten a good week ago), but not by much. I thought the concept was pretty simple (I know I’m not the first to make a Lego cake), but getting buttercream to cover all of those nooks and crannies was a chore to say the least. And yes, fondant would have been easier. That’s if we liked the taste of that. Our fav cake shows like Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss sure have raised the bar (let’s see them make a Lego cake with buttercream!) Anyway, if you’re brave enough to attempt such a cake for your little Lego fan here’s the inside scoop…

It’s basically one cake made in a 9″ x 12″ pan and cut as so. Then you’ll need to bake up 16 mini cake muffins for the little connector dots on top. I recommend freezing the various cut parts for easier icing. Or better yet, stick a few little Lego guys in the 9″ x 12″ and call it a day.