60th Anniversary Cake

This is the sixtieth wedding anniversary cake I made recently. It is my new signature cake recipe - marble. I baked it in my heart-shaped pan, since anniversaries are all about love after all. Then I covered the cake in one of my favorite frosting options - glossy chocolate ganache. Then I whipped up a small batch of my signature vanilla buttercream icing for the borders, piping, and decorations. On the bottom I did a simple shell border, and around the top I did an alternating shell border. I really like this top border, it gives an almost lace-like appearance, and looks neat and old-fashioned. I then piped "Happy 60th Anniversary" in cursive writing in the middle (free-hand!) and added three buttercream roses at the bottom and a few leaves in between. 

I decided to keep this cake simple and classic - old-school like many wedding cakes were sixty years ago. I chose the simple color scheme of chocolate and white to keep it clean-looking and simple. Also, it is difficult to match the traditional sixtieth anniversary color - diamond. I wanted to stick with the old-fashioned buttercream and not too much piping, instead of the modern fondant and sugar flower covered cakes, to make it appear more like the wedding cake, not that I was trying to replicate that either. I like the simplicity of this cake, and I am quite happy with the piping as well. 
Sixty years is a long time, and this cake is truly deserved.