"Lots of Blessings" Birthday Cake

S. celebrated his 40th birthday yesterday.  It's quite a milestone and he is not happy about getting old, lol, so I decided to make a somewhat funky rather than traditional cake, to cheer him up.  It actually took far less time to put it together than the usual icing, decoration, etc. cake.

The base is Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake.  Neither S. nor I care much for the crust so I always skip that part.  Instead of coffee, I added Godiva Caramel Milk Chocolate Liqueur.  Most of the alcohol evaporates during baking so it's fine even for non-drinkers like we are.  It really enhances the flavor, though -- in my opinion.  Like with all cheesecakes, it's better to bake it the night before, leave in the oven to cool (don't move or even touch the cake, just open the door, gently), and then chill overnight, w/out opening the springform pan.

I was planning to decorate the cake yesterday afternoon before S. came home from work but he surprised me and showed up like at 2:00 pm, unheard of! :)  So he witnessed the decoration.  I opened several packages of Kit-Kat bars and sliced them in half (aim between Kit and Kat, lol) with a sharp knife.  One bar creates two sections of the border or four "slats."  Keep adding sections until they go all around.  I could not fit a two-slat section at the end so broke it in half vertically and just added one slat, which fit perfectly.  S. was observing my "fence-building" and then noted that my fence was a bit wobbly.  I told him -- no worries!  And opened a package of Fruit by the Foot, strawberry flavor!  I gently pressed the "ribbon" all around the cake, then gently pulled the paper away.  The leftover portion of the "ribbon" became a bow (I just tucked the ends inside).  I have used the "ribbon" before -- it's such an easy but elegant touch, in my opinion.  I added peanut M&Ms to the top (just one layer), as a symbol of "lots of blessings."  They were great for catching the dripping wax, too.  Finally, I added 40 mini candles.  Done! :)