Ashlyn's Pony Cake

For my niece Ashlyn's 6th birthday I wanted to make her a cake to celebrate at our family celebration. I asked both of her parents what she would want. Her dad (my brother) came back with Spongebob. Spongebob? Ok, easy enough. Then it changed to a "girlie skull" cake. Ok, getting a little more creative.. And then it changed again. She was so specific about what she wanted: "I want a chocolate cake that is pink and a white pony with brown spots and my name under the pony." I laughed so hard at how in depth she had decided her cake should be.. And she's just turning 6. It was the cutest thing ever! So my niece, of course, got what she wanted. I did have some issues with the frosting being too thin. I don't know what the issue was because as you can tell I have made a lot of buttercream. For whatever reason, on the day I made this cake it decided it was not going to cooperate. The pink icing was fine, but the white and yellow did not want to stay on. I kept having to put it in the fridge to let it set and then take it out to keep decorating. I felt really challenged by this cake in general. It took me a little while to come up with an idea and how I was actually going to get it done.. But I was pretty pleased with the end result, minus the melting buttercream. The cake was chocolate with buttercream. The pony and her name were made with fondant and the rest is dear old buttercream. She was thrilled, which made me thrilled. Have to keep that little girl happy :-)