A girlfriend asked me to make a beer mug cake for her hubby's 40th birthday. I had never made a barrel cake before but I'm always up for a challenge. I did make a trial barrel cake (that ended up being in celebration of the birth of a friend's baby) and this was my offering! I found that covering the cake in ganache (courtesy of a fabulous tutorial by Inspired By Michelle Cake Designs) instead of my usual buttercream made it very sturdy to hold the fondant but it also made it costly to make because I only use Girardhelli in my baking!