Julia's Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake

Earlier today I delivered a birthday cake to 3-year old Julia, whose party was this afternoon. Julia's mom, Rebekah, is a former neighbor of mine and, along with her sister Robyn, has been friends with my own kids since they were all pretty little.  They all grew up together in a quiet neighborhood in rural Greenfield Center, New York, and all the (now grown) kids seem to have fond memories of those years, from kindergarten right through high school.  It was a neighborhood where kids could stay out all day long and no one ever had to worry.  I used to call my kids in for lunch and dinner, and then they played outside until it was time to come in for the night.  They loved it.

Rebekah asked if I could make a Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake for  Julia's birthday party, and sent me a photo of her "inspiration" cake, which I attempted to replicate but also add my own touches.  For this cake, I baked an 8" tier and a 6" tier of yellow pound cake.  Layers were filled with pink vanilla buttercream with just a bit of raspberry flavoring (extract).  I carved the 6" inch cake  into the strawberry house shape, crumb coated both tiers, and then started to decorate.  The finishing touch was a little Strawberry Shortcake doll (that I had searched a number of stores to find!) perched at the bottom of the cake.  A few fondant flowers for trim, and Julia's cake was complete.

Here is a collage of photos of Julia's cake: