Live every week like its shark week.

Although I never actually watch shark week, I still seem to get excited about it for some reason. This year, I decided to make a shark week cake because I'd been wanting to do a horizontal ruffle ombré, and what better way to show it off than waves in the sea.

I baked two 8" rounds using my favorite "Fluffy Vanilla Cake" from Sweetapolita. I also tried something new, we'll see how it worked out...After brainstorming with Jeff about wanting a thick layer of strawberry compote, he suggested instead of a buttercream dam, that I use a ring of cake. I had an extra layer of vanilla in the freezer from last week, so I cut the middle out, and filled it with compote. I'm going for an "oozy" layer effect, and I think using a cake layer instead of a dam will allow that to happen. I whipped up some silky smooth Swiss meringue buttercream from Sweetapolita, colored it, and piped using a Wilton 104 for the ruffles. This was my first time using my fancy new turn table and it was AMAZING. I also made some white chocolate shark fins that I put around the top of the cake. Hopefully the guys at Jeff's work will enjoy it. 

"So here's some advice I wish I would have got when I was your age... Live every week, like it's shark week."

~Tracy Jordan, 30Rock. 

Before adding "whitecaps" and fins. 

Finished project. I'll add a pic of the inside when they cut it tomorrow. 

Here's the inside :)