Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A Merry Birthday Cake

After making tons of cake lollies, brownies and cupcakes for holiday orders, I have to admit I was pretty exhausted and looking forward to the break that Christmas would bring.


That is, until I was asked to make a birthday cake.


For a birthday on Christmas.


And seeing as how this birthday belongs to my wonderful godfather, I was delighted to do it! Since it was my first time to ever make his cake (his mother usually makes one), I wanted to make sure it was really special - and really unChristmas-y.


I've always heard that Christmas babies aren't too fond of Christmas-themed birthday cakes. No one likes getting a two-for-one special on their birthday.


Anyway.


For inspiration, I couldn't help but think back a few months ago to a video my godfather showed me. It was one of him and some friends in the 80's, doing a dance number from the The Wiz. I know it sounds eccentric, but that's the kind of guy he is - and it's one of the many reasons why I love him so much! For the rest of that evening, he tried in vain to teach me the dance. And while I never got the pas du bourree* quite right, we had a lot of fun and it's a memory I won't soon forget.


And so a cake design was born.


(You'll have to forgive the poor photography... overhead lighting is the cake photographer's worst nightmare!)




The silhouettes were cut from gumpaste, and fondant accents were added later. The picture doesn't show it, but the black and red accents glittered.


I didn't get a good picture of the back of the cake, but this side view shows a few of the sugar poppies I made.




The theme ended up being more of a blend of The Wiz and The Wizard of Oz, but my godfather loved it!


This is what I call, "proof positive".



JAZZ HANDS!


The cake itself was lemon sponge with a lemon and fresh blueberry cheesecake filling.

And just in case you aren't familiar with The Wiz, the words on top of the cake are "Ease on down the road", the name of the song famously sung by Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.


If you haven't seen this movie, the songs alone are worth the price of the rental! You'll be a better person, pop culturally speaking, for seeing it.


I promise.


(*If you look closely, Lion is saying "Pas du bourree". It was an inside joke thing.)




2 comments:

Jamie said...

This is just darling! I love the silhouettes!

Anonymous said...

i soooooooooo want a dance class now (i always want your cake)!

JW