An Enlightening Cake

Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy the people I work with. They are incredible people and very supportive of my cakes. As a matter of fact when walking by Christy's office the other day I heard a, "...well she is walking by my office right now..." and I must admit that I looked around to see who she was talking about and didn't see anyone else, but yet my brilliant self still did not take the clue that she might be talking about me until she called my name. At that point I was thinking to myself, oh oh did I volunteer Christy for something I forgot to warn her about??? Alas I could not think of a thing. Christy must have read my mind from looking at my face and just laughed. Then she explained that she had gotten off the phone with a friend that had enjoyed the cake I had made for her daughter's college graduation and was wondering if I could make them and scary cake for Halloween. Although we were both wondering what the definition of scary was in this case (ugly witch, nasty headstone or something really bloody and gory) I agreed and she said she would get more details.

Not long after she said a simple Halloween sheet cake would be fine that said Happy Halloween Colton & Collin. Everyone who knows me knows that a simple sheet cake is not in my vocabulary. I asked if I could do something a little more fun and she said sure go for it and further explained that the person ordering it really wanted cake and was getting it for herself and her sons.

So I did my very favorite thing and used a cake pan I had not used before (I really wanted to do this cake pan because unlike the others the pan is iridescent orange-and really neat looking) that looked like a Jack-O-Lantern. I made a yellow butter cake which seems to be the most popular of all. I decorated it in orange, and yellow with a green stem and black eyes and writing. I must admit writing on this cake was a little difficult. I had actually thought about writing on the sides but every child deserves to have his or her name on the top not the sides so I ventured on. I thought it made a very happy Halloween cake and one that I might get to make again in the future.

Birthday Pikachu

Well I have to admit it's been awhile since I posted to the blog. Work like has been a little wide open as we say here and cakes have not been in my scheduling. However last week one of my coworkers sons had a birthday. He said all he wanted for his birthday was to go to Fayetteville and play laser tag. So with laser tag and pizza in the plans I couldn't help but volunteer to make a birthday cake. I told my coworker that what ever her son wanted I would create so they hit the blog and checked out the slide show in the introduction section and the next day I was told it was narrowed down to Sponge Bob and Pickachu but Pickachu won out. So I baked a yellow cake and Pickachu was created with icing and love. She picked it up after the pizza so they could have a little family party at home.

One other little thing I did...I must admit to it. I could not resist throwing in some candles for this cake. Of course they were not your traditional candles. They were tall sparklers that relight when you blow them out. I figured since Dillon is a big 12 years old right now it was a good time to have a little fun. I told mom she could blame me for it and she promised she would. Do you think I should worry?

Single Best Reaction to a Cake EVER!

It is not often that I am asked to do a 50th wedding anniversary cake. When it happens I want to make sure the cake is extra special. This cake however offered some special challenges and opportunities. You see this couple was going to have a surprise anniversary party so they knew nothing about the cake or anything which made it impossible for me or anyone else to interview them on their likes and dislikes. As I interviewed one of their sons I got that they wanted it to look like a wedding cake, stacked construction not separated, they wanted a big cake even though they were only planning a party for about 50-60 guests, they wanted a classic wedding cake but not too formal because the couple is not a traditional/formal couple. Okay so my first thought is I am supposed to make a formal wedding cake not look formal. As their son poured over the books and photos I had he kept picking intricate and more formal cakes with sprays of flowers and roping and wanted it all in white. So then I came up with an idea for a photo cake. No not a sheet cake with edible photos but separators between the layers of the cake that could have photos and words on the cakes. However after consulting with the family there were no photos to get their hands on for the cake and the words were a little too modern for them. So we went back and forth and up and down and after realizing that 50 was the golden anniversary the son agreed to a cake that was slightly off white (which would give it a less formal look) and gold ribbon separators instead of photos. As a matter of fact after seeing the 50 for the top of the cake he was inspired to go get the gold ribbon for me, which was a plain gold and he felt suited his parents style to add to the cake.

So I baked three butter cakes. Although we had discussed doing different flavors for different cakes when they realized there would be more cake than people they decided to go with one flavor. So I bakes a 14 inch, 10 inch and 6 inch cakes each two layered about 4 inch cakes when I got done. I set up the separators with the ribbon and had my dowel rods ready and in place. Getting the cake to where it needed to go was another issue.

The party was held in the Woodmen of the World building about 15 miles from my house. So I loaded up and headed down. Now remember this is a surprise party so everything must be set up well in advance and the cake is going to have to last several hours in one spot. Usually this is not a problem however this building was quaint, useful, and very old. Every time someone took a step in the building the entire floor would shake which made tables and chair shake so I figured out rather quickly we had a vibrating cake table which is not always good for stability. My other issue was the temperature. Although there was air in the building, it was a hot day outside and we were in and out a lot. Cake stability is best in a climate that is not changing and that is fairly cool. However you work with what you have and often pray for the best and that is what I did.

I quickly went to the task of getting the cake together and putting the finishing touches on it. The off white icing made the cake less formal than a wedding cake and the decorations on the side added a little whimsy to the cake giving it a great design and allowing it to be more of an anniversary cake. The finishing touches are the gold ribbon separators and the 50 in the top of the cake. Once it was together I hoped for the best and prayed we would not have much slippage.

The cake was up and I cleaned up, hiding all of my cake stuff until it was time to cut the cake. I waited as guests arrived and did my best to help out with other things. Now mind you, the family was in on the surprise, the guests were asked not to say anything (and didn't) but the husband had to be let in on it all to make it work. So instead of playing golf that morning he went to the building to help clean up and set up for his own anniversary party. As cooking was going on he left and went back home. His wife was under the impression that she was headed to an event in Lumberton and needed to be there by noon and if he was not ready in time she was prepared to leave him behind because this was very important to her to be at this event on time. To add to the story her son even had her make bannana pudding for the event (which he planned as one of the dishes for the party). So, as the story was related to all of us at the party, she is getting ready to leave her husband behind because it is taking him too long to get ready and she does not want to be late. She has already loaded the pudding in the car and he makes it out of the house in the nick of time and is complaining that he does not want to go to this event. As they get ready to turn the corner to head to Lumberton he looks the other way and pretends to notice all the cars at the Woodmen of the World building. He claims to be upset because no one is supposed to be there and turns the corner to further investigate. His wife on the other hand is very upset because she will be late for this very important event and is doing her best to convince him to leave this investigation alone and turn the car around. She is so busy she does not notice the people in the crowd at the building or the cars as they rush the car and yell surprise the look of shock and amazement on her face is priceless.

It takes several minutes for it all to sink in and realize that the event was a rouse to get her here and this party is for the happy couple. After hugging everyone and getting some family photos with sons, daughter in law and grandson she heads inside to a room full of friends and family. She makes the rounds in the room two other three times each time noticing someone else.

Still getting over the shock and letting it all sink in she turns to make another round and speak to everyone again and notices the cake. She stands frozen looking at it and tears well up in her eyes. I asked her if it was okay, did I do something wrong and she asked if I made the cake. I admitted I had and she just hugged me. She held her husbands hand and pointed to the cake and he admitted he knew about it, and she just quietly said,"I never had a wedding cake." That did it. Tears welled up in my eyes and I knew this cake was something more special than any other cake I had made.

As the party went on you could feel the love of this family and friends as they came together to celebrate over a fantastic meal. When it came time to cut the cake the happy couple got up together to cut it as if it were their wedding day. They opened gifts and shared in more laughter and love before sending everyone home. What a fantastic day and fantastic party!