2019-01-21 - 12:18 p.m.
The first layer was of plaster, frosted with a pearlescent buttercream.
It was necessary to build the first layer with form, not function, in mind. In order to balance the subsequent 39 layers of a 40 layer birthday cake, the first layer must be indestructible, must not sink, crumble, or sag. They had compromised somewhat by using a clay plaster, which was obviously less sturdy than concrete but which leant an appealing softness to the outline and kept the layer from appearing too pedestal-like.
The next layer was plain vanilla, made from a batter with an increased flour-to-butter ratio and twenty egg yolks to help it retain its shape. The cake would be eaten from the top down, and therefore it was reasonable to assume this tough second layer would never be tasted and could therefore be mixed with an architectural rather than gustatory aim. If the cake were to be eaten all the way down to the second layer, the guests by that point would be too drunk to notice the stiffness of the crumb. (Should the unthinkable happen and the bottom layer be broached, footmen were standing by to whisk the platter away.)
The next eighteen layers were chocolate, increasing in lightness from a rich, dark and bitter third layer to a light mocha twenty-first layer.
Layers twenty-two through thirty were alternating lemon and carrot.
The top ten layers were where the chefs concentrated most attention. They were as follows:
Layer 10: confetti cake, from a mix. White confetti frosting.
Layer 9: rum cake, dense with raisins and slivers of dried apricots. Unfrosted.
Layer 8: plain vanilla, daubed with appealingly fluffy clumps of coconut.
Layer 7: chocolate and vanilla swirl cake with raspberry frosting.
Layer 6: a spicy chili and chocolate cake, painted with red lightning bolts in gel frosting.
Layer 5: banana cake with cream cheese frosting.
Layer 4: red velvet, also with cream cheese frosting.
Layer 3: ice cream cake (Baskin Robbins Jamoca® Almond Fudge), to be eaten hurriedly.
Layer 2: this flavor was not to be revealed until cut in to. Mysteriously opaque frosting.
Layer 1: a single cupcake of incandescent lightness, made of fine ground almonds, whole Meyer lemons, lightly whipped cream.
Atop: a hard candied cherry, a little diamond that had fallen off of someone's earring, a tiny scrape of paper with an IOU.
