I made a tiered cake. It was a 10 inch yellow cake from scratch with a Strawberry syrup and a strawberry preserves/buttercream for filling. The top layer was 6 in' chocolate with a peanut butter filling.
I made pink gumpaste roses that finally turned out right. I was excited and I thought I did a great job. I wish I could show you all but I need to get pictures developed and scanned. I don't have a digital camera.
1. No one will have the same level of excitement or appreciation as you do about a cake. I guess I am just a nut and was really happy about how it turned out.
2. I like using the simple syrup but I leveled the cake and I put some on the cut part of the cake. I won't to that again. Too soggy but I tasted what the syrup did for the cake. The scratch cake seems to have a thicker crust and the syrup keep the cake moist.
3. I did not notice much difference with taste using Sweetex but it was creamier and less greasy feeling. I am not sure it is worth the money just yet. Gotta tweak that recipe. Maybe use milk instead to cut sweetness.
4. I don't know that I liked mixing strawberry preserves and buttercream. I guess I need to go with what mood I am in.
The chocolate cake with peanut butter filling went over great and I did get a compliment on my icing.
Just my thoughts. Feel free to share any thoughts on what I noticed. I did try a few things for the first time on this cake. The sweetex, the strawberry filling, the simple syrup, and the peanut butter filling. I am new to scratch cakes and wanted to know what all the tooodoo was about them. It is a really good cake.
Thanks for the notes. 
I love talking cake.
1. I agree.
2. It's tough trying to get it right. Try putting it in a spray bottle.
3. Try using heavy cream, not milk. Or even half and half. It helps but I still don't like any shortening buttercream.
4. I'm not sure of that either. I like doing a layer of jam, and top it with a layer of buttercream. Or doing pureed frozen strawberries.
The chocolate cake with peanut butter filling went over great and I did get a compliment on my icing.
That sounds so good!
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