I hope everyone had a lovely Easter long weekend. As I mentioned last week, I was inspired by my neighbour, who made a lovely tray of Easter treats, to get into the kitchen and do some baking. So I decided to try my hand at a new recipe! I've long admired Rosie Alyea's work on her blog Sweetapolita. Rosie is enormously talented and her beautiful creations always look absolutely perfect. Take a look for yourself. You will definitely be inspired. For months now, I've been eying this Sweetapolita Pastel Swirl Cake. {Image via Sweetapolita} On the one hand, if you watch Rosie's video tutorial, the icing technique looks easy enough. On the other hand, I've weathered enough storms in the kitchen to know that things can easily go wrong. But I decided to give it a go, anyway! I started off with Canadian Living's Golden Layer Cake. Canadian Living recipes are always my no-fail, go-to recipes and this one didn't disappoint. The cakes slid effortlessly out of the pans and were a perfect golden finish. Before icing the cake, I watched Rosie's video tutorial and learned that I needed to put a crumb coat on the cake first, then let it sit for 30 minutes in the fridge to set. This prevents crumbs from coming off the cake while you're trying to ice it. Once the crumb coat was set, I started icing with my three desired colours. Following Rosie's instructions, I started with the top layer, then the bottom layer, then the middle layer. The final product isn't nearly as gorgeous as Rosie's but not bad for a first attempt. What do you think? This look is perfect for any occasion. I made this cake for Easter but it would be lovely for a birthday cake and a shower cake, too.