Off with her head!

This latest installment comes from "something for everyone" and is called the Cake of Hearts. I decided to make this for Gma Martha's 92nd birthday, and the subsequent cakeslide was just a taster for the whole evening.

Being lazy and also incapable of making a successful sponge, I should admit upfront that not only did I not have the dexterity to carve the round sponge into a heart shape as per the book, I also cheated. Big time.
 

However, it tasted fine and it meant that I only needed the oven on briefly while I dried out the meringue hearts.

Anyway, the idea of the cake is it's filled with jam and cream in two layers, then iced with whipped cream and decorated with heart-shaped meringues that were coated with 100s & 1000s before baking. They were the easy part (although I tried out the recommended method - tracing hearts on baking papers and spreading the meringue mixture around with a teaspoon - did not work. I turned to my trusty piping bag and that hit the spot).

So far, so good. Then to assembly, and that too goes smoothly and we end up with the final product (next to the prototype for comparison):

So, what then is the problem?

Well, a hot day and soft cream and some inattentive packing for transport. Behold:

Yeah. Happy Birthday, Gma.

The Queen of Hearts

She made some tarts,

    All on a summer's day;

The Knave of Hearts

He stole those tarts,

    And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts

Called for the tarts,

    And beat the knave full sore;

The Knave of Hearts

Brought back the tarts,

    And vowed he'd steal no more.