Strawberry Malt Ball Cake!

This year my birthday (back in August) happened to land on a Tuesday which is the day my Stitch & Bitch group usually meets so I decided to make a special, if somewhat outrageous, cake to share with everyone. I'd seen this malt ball cake from Inspired by Charm on Pinterest before and I just couldn't resist. (Click the link for the full recipe and her cute tutorial for a mini bunting!)

 It's a really easy recipe because it uses a boxed strawberry cake mix, which was surprisingly good. I also used this as an opportunity for trying a new method for getting the cake to rise evenly while baking. You cut pieces of thick fabric, like an old kitchen towel, into strips wide and long enough to wrap around the sides of your cake pan, then soak them in cold water, wring them out gently, and use a safety pin to keep them in pace around the outside, then bake as usual. It keeps the edges from cooking too fast and you don't have to trim a dome off the tops, which means no wasted cake! Worked like a charm as you can see in the pics below.

 The icing was great, it's white chocolate cream cheese. Came together just like the recipe says. But it made waaaay too much. She said she doubled the recipe to ice the cake, but I had a ton left over, so I think one portion is fine. Also, next time I think I will skip putting the layer of frosting in between the cake layers to make room for more strawberries.

 I did a crumb coat of frosting with little squares of waxed paper protecting the cake plate. You just slide them out when you're all done icing. I'd have let it chill a little longer, but I was in a rush.

 The final layer of icing has to be pretty thick to hold the malt balls on, and you need to keep the cake cool or it will melt. I made this one in the middle of a heat wave and had to get it in the car and to the cafe where S&B meets, but it made it!

And as a final quirky touch, I made a little paper cake bunting like the ones I sell, (there's a couple left for sale in my etsy shop here) but I used strawberry Pocky as the supports.

All and all, I'd give this recipe a thumbs up! It was really sweet, but everyone had a tiny slice and it was great! I'm super interested in trying a chocolate version of this. Or I'd make my Elvis Cake and cover the outside with the peanut butter malt balls they make now. *Drools*