My first attempt at carving. My nephew showed up at my house and wanted this cake for his birthday--the next day. Not being able to "No", and not knowing better at the time I said sure and got to work. This is from Debbie Brown's book "Magical Cakes". So, not having time to stiffen and using sponge cake instead of a more sturdier cake this poor guy and his books are drooping a bit. In the end it tasted great, my nephew was happy and it got me started on carving cakes.