Ok, I have a request from my bestfriend, (a kid at heart) to make her a Strawberry Shortcake (the cartoon girl) cake for her birthday in August. So, I have a few weeks to figure something out. I would like to do something classy and elegant without being too cartoonish. It's actually more her style! I need ideas on how to do a Strawberry Shortcake design that would suit the situation.
My intention is to make a chocolate cake with strawberry cream cheese filling.

I have the following pans:
13x9x2, 11x8x2, 14 in round, 10 in round, 8 in round, 6 in round and one square pan (8x8???)

I am new too fondant but work well with buttercream. Still learning the fondant but willing to learn more before having to do this cake.

Can anyone help me make a classy and elegant Strawberry Shortcake cake?

Since it is a cartoon character and that's what she wants, you won't be able to get around the kiddie look of the cake especially the colors. Here's a few suggestions to make it a little more sophisticated/feminine instead of girly.

Cover the board with either pink or red paper and put a feather boa around the edge of board (ex. pink board/red boa).

Take two plastic champaigne flutes or any plastic coctkail glass, melt pink chocolate melts, let cool a little, dip the rim if glasses into it and then dip in pink sparkle sugar. Glue the glasses on opposite sides of cake (more toward the back) to the board. Let melted chocolate set so sugar sets.

Either dip strawberries in the melted pink and drizzle with melted light green or reverse the colors ( I kind of like the dipped in green and drizzle in pink, pink and red dominates the design). Once the candy hardens put in glasses.

Name and birthday message on board in either the FMM script tappits or the funky tappits letters in the green color gumpaste.

Now here's a cake; it might be sophisticated enough without all of my suggestions.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1573865.html

Here's another one.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1324576.html

Bump,

Any other ideas out there?

Thanks in advance and thanks to yummy for her response!!