Fran saw this recipe in a magazine that was dedicated to cooking with cheese. It’s primary audience is vegetarians, not carnivores like Fran and me, however, there were some very good ideas to be had from the “dark” side.

This cake uses the “not-me David” yellow cake as a base. The two 8″ round cakes were then frozen. 24 hrs later I removed the cakes from the freezer and carved one edge of each to round it off. I crumb coated it with some yellow tinted butter-cream  to try to match the color of the frosting to Gouda cheese. Reserve a few tablespoons of frosting. Stack the two cakes with frosting between them and the un-carved sides touching. It goes back into the refrigerator until the night before it is to be used. Erev-eating (that means the night before it is to be eater) The cake is removed from the fridge and smoothed. I wear a latex glove and smooth the frosting so the fondant will look nice and smooth after it is applied. Speaking of which, I rolled a small piece of fondant out to about 1/8″ thick. Using a plate about the same diameter as the cake I cut a circle out and put in on a plate. Place the cake on the circle of fondant and roll out a large piece of fondant to end up about 15″ diameter. If the crumb-coat is still moist just lay the fondant over the cake. If the crumb-coat has set up, spray it with a fine mist of water. This helps the fondant adhere. I always have trouble covering round cakes with fondant and not having wrinkles. It requires pulling, stretching and smoothing, but it is an art I have not quite mastered.

Cut a piece of the finished cake (about 1/4th the entire cake) out and set on its side. Carefully frost the 3 visible sides of the cake (the wedge removed and both inside edges of where it was removed) with the reserved frosting. If you plan correctly there should be one large tablespoon of frosting left for you to eat.

Coat the fondant with a light layer of vegetable oil to make it shiny. Brush a bunch of grapes with slightly beaten egg whites and coat with granulated sugar. Let the grapes dry for at least an hour then arrange on the platter and add a few crackers for effect.