Strawberry Kirsch Cake

This is a white vanilla cake, 2 layers torted to made 4, soaked in Kirsch simple syrup, then layered with Kirsh italian meringue buttercream and sliced fresh strawberries. I made it for my friend's 30th birthday. It was not without drama though... I learned that defrosting buttercream in a bowl directly over a flame on the stove is actually a big mistake if you are a novice like me. I read it in a book. Oops ;)

I had much better luck leaving the frozen buttercream out to soften on the counter for about 15 mins then zapping it on the lowest power in the microwave for 20 seconds then stirring until it was soft enough to spread.

A great recipe for IMBC can be found here.
It's enough to max out a 5 qt stand mixer and it yields about 5 cups.