Amazing Cake...in Progress

Well, even if it doesn't turn out to be amazing, the process is! Here are a few quick snapshots of the process, with a few notes to accompany them. My apologies for the teeny tiny captions; they looked quite sizable in Photoshop! If you desperately need to read them, just click on the picture.



















Meringue: I'm not sure if it deflated or not...it was definitely a challenge to cover all 3 rectangles. I just hope they don't crumble irreparably when assembly time comes around!




























Cake: This came together fairly easily. The cake shrank to just below 12" long during baking, but it's not a problem (I think) since the whole thing will be covered by buttercream.



















Buttercream: Speaking of which, this is the one item I'm a wee bit concerned about. The recipe says not to use chocolate with a cocoa % higher than 60%, but I could only find 70% in the store (pre-chopped, too! Bonus!) It seems to be a little grainy and watery. We'll see what it acts like once it's cooled properly.











Syrup: This was a breeze! Syrup = sugar + water, + dash of peppermint schnapps once sugar/water combination has boiled. I have no worries about this one!