Rock Climbing Birthday

Cade and Ethan had a Rock Climbing birthday party today.  My challenge was to create a cake that matched the theme... not a small task for a "beginner".  This time, I made the cake and both toppings from scratch.  I used a recipe for the cake in my Baking book for German Chocolate cake.  Although it tasted fabulous, it was VERY crumbly and fell apart easily. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if that's just the way the recipe goes.  I also made a Professional Grade Buttercream Frosting.  The frosting was probably the best buttercream I've had.  The secret was to boil the symple sugar to a "softball stage" and then mix it in with the beaten egg yolks without touching the sides of the blender.  It was creamy and light.  I added vanilla for flavoring.  Next time, I would make a double batch because it wasn't quite enough for the cake.  I made a half sheet round cake and broke it in thirds to stack it for the rock climbing cake.  I made fondant from scratch using another recipe from my baking book and this time it was PERFECT.  I gently kneaded black food coloring into it until it made the perfect granite marble color.  All of the rocks and decorations were also made out of fondant.  I didn't really leave myself enough time, so I cut corners by using black icing for writing and hastily assembling the people.  Next time, more frosting and MORE TIME!  :)  The kids loved it and I had a guest say, "This cake tastes AMAZING and I know cakes!"  Must not have been so bad!