Capistrano Spring Break

This is my first cake competition. I am the NYC-based baker/owner of MAN BAKES CAKE. I chose this design because I grew up in Orange County and often went to Mission San Juan Capistrano on field trips as a child. I catered there on-site as an adult and I also happen to think it is an absolutely beautiful, magical and historic place. I love the humor and style of this t-shirt and used it and my memories of the mission as inspiration for my cake. I used two 8" and three 6" Vanilla-Buttermilk cakes for the tiers. The layers are frosted and filled with Vanilla Buttercream. The cake is covered entirely with hand-colored Vanilla and Chocolate fondant and Royal Icing. I completed the cake over the course of four days. This included the baking, cutting of fondant, molding and hand-painting. My initial design did not include the arch and I was concerned over how I would achieve this effect, but I wanted it to mirror the actual architechture of the mission and the bougainvillea that cover much of the mission walls. I wanted the cake to have a classic tiered wedding cake feel to it since the mission is often used as the setting for weddings. This process was tough, labor intensive, fun and extremely rewarding. I was too afraid to enter last year, waited until the last minute this year and I cannot wait for next year. Thanks for this opportunity.
Cheers!
Rudy (MAN BAKES CAKE)