Pink Cake with Strawberries

Somebody is turning FOUR (with one candle to grow on).

I made a pink ombre cake.  Now, I don't think that ombre necessarily belongs everywhere.  Don't hate me, but neither do chevrons!   But this seemed like a pretty ok place for a bit of ombre.  You have to make the layers anyway, why not distinguish between them? 

The cake itself is the yogurt orange cake from a tattered old copy of the very first Moosewood cookbook.  It makes a nice moist cake with a good crumb and you can flavor it anyway you like.  And, you know, despite the cup of butter in it, it also has yogurt, so it's kind of good for you, right?

The frosting is not good for you at all, but oh so good.  A stick of butter, 8oz of cream cheese, a tsp vanilla and a Tbsp lemon juice, and 2-3C powdered sugar depending on how stiff you need it.

Can I just say my little girl's eyes rolled around a little in her head when she saw how big and how pink her cake was?  AND it had strawberries?  AND a surprise amount of pinkness INSIDE? 

Happy Birthday, sweet P.  Many many happy returns.

PS - I've been away for a while.  Nothing major, just summer.  There is always so much to do, and photographing it seems so secondary - let alone sit down at the computer.  See you soon with our homeschooling adventures, year one.