The ship was made from layers of artboard. The icebergs were my first attempt at Royal Icing. Icing sugar with beaten egg whites gives a nice crunchy coating to the cake.
The idea of a celebratory cake remembering the tragic loss of life may seem odd, but the grand-daughter's gift from us was a visit to a Titanic Experience, up in London. She really understood a lot more about the background to the voyage - the different classes of passenger and especially the poor emigrants hoping for a new life. The realities of the lack of lifeboats and the relatively small size of those that were able to be used also struck home - together with the stories of heroism and self-sacrifice.