Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Communion Cheesecake

I came up with this idea how to decorate the First Communion Cheesecake:

It helped that I reviewed my past cakes. I once did a baptism cake with white and brown chocolate making a "collar" around the cheesecake that said Congratulations. I had no white chocolate today but I did have fondant and gum paste and the result is just as nice! Rolled fondant with piped brown chocolate message and the zig-zags are piped and cooled chocolate. The recipe is from my favorite cheesecake recipe book called "125 Best Cheesecake Recipes" by George Geary. Off to the communion I go!

Cross Shaped Communion Cake

On Sunday it will be time for my son to make his first Communion. I will be making a cheesecake for him. I am still thinking of ideas of how to decorate it. If you have any, let me know.

I made a cake for my daughter for her first communion last year and it was a simple cake, cut into a cross shape. I made it from three 9"x9" cakes, cut and stacked to look like a cross. It became a two layer cake. I used a double batch of my old chocolate cake recipe. Then I crumb coated it in buttercream, coated the top in buttercream and the sides in yellow fondant.

Here is another version I did for a friend of mine a couple of years ago:

How to form three 9x9 cakes into a large, 2 layer cross:

1. cut all three cakes in half down the middle (giving six 9" x 4.5" rectangles)
2. cut two pieces in half again (giving four pieces 4.5" square and four pieces 9" x 4.5") 
3. arrange the pieces to form the bottom layer of a cross using half the pieces. Fill with your favorite filling and arrange the other pieces to make the top layer, cross over as many seams as you can, to help hold the cake together.
4. Decorate the cake. Using little pink star drop flowers with green leaves at each corner is another decorating idea that was beautiful. Here is a primitive drawing of the assembly steps:

Best wishes to all first Communicants out there!