Being the anal perfectionist that I am, I baked Ben's birthday cake 2 days in advance, to ensure flawlessness and to ascertain that the cake is sufficiently firm/chilled for neat cutting. I made a smaller portion since there were extra batter and crust. It's been a knock-out so far. I just hope Ben, his family and his friends enjoy it as much as my family did.

Recipe from Bakerella.