Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Lost Cake and a Great Day!

Yesterday was a great day! What's so special about January 19th? Well, first of all, it's my hubby's birthday! And second...I GOT A JOB! Yay!

First things first: Adam's birthday cake
Last year, Adam didn't want me to make him a birthday cake. He's not a big cake person...but...I make cakes! I make cakes for everyone else...shouldn't my husband get one?! This year, however, he really got into it! He designed his own cake and did all the necessary research for it. Adam's favorite television show is Lost so he wanted a cake representation of the island, equipped with miniature symbols of important events & plot twists. He scoured the internet to get me maps and photos of everything so I could recreate them in sugar.

I saved all the decorating for Tuesday so I could do it while he was at work. By the time he came home, I had a fully decorated island...and he loved it! (Phew!)


The cake was carved from two side-by-side 13x9-inch cakes and then crumb coated in buttercream. To create the mountains, I made fondant snakes and laid them on top of the island. Then, I covered the whole thing in green fondant. Working quickly, I went back and pinched the mountain tops between my fingers to create peaks here and there.

I hand-painted the mountains with 3 different shades of brown and the island with 3 different shades of green food coloring. The "beaches" were made of ground Ritz crackers (I would have used Graham crackers, but didn't have any on hand.) and brown sugar.

All of the miniature elements and Dharma symbols were made from fondant and hand-painted with food coloring. The island had the 4-toed foot, the submarine, the tail crash site, the fuselage, the Elizabeth, a golf club & ball to represent the golf course, the barracks, the Dharma van, Henry Gail's hot air balloon, and 9 Dharma symbols!


He said this was the best birthday cake he's ever gotten. But, frankly, I think he's finally learned that flattery (and not criticism) is the way to make me happy after a long day of hard work. *grin* Anyway, happy birthday, Adam!

The second thing on the agenda: My new job!
Over the past couple of months, I have been in contact with a local cake decorator about future employment. Yesterday, she officially hired me! I'm really excited to see what my sugary future holds! And on the way home from meeting with her, I called Adam and said, "Happy Birthday, your wife just got a job!" To celebrate...I think I'll do a little shopping this afternoon...

So, yesterday was a great day for us! And today is also a great day because it's Adam's Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Leona!

4 comments:

Julie said...

Excellent job on the cake-hurray for the new job

aunteegem@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Melanie, once again you proved how artistic you are. Congrats on the job, of course, we all know this bakery will only get better with your expertise.

Adam, Happy belated Birthday!

Aunt Debbie

Jan Sommer said...

I am so glad you got a job! Now how soon before you have your own 'sweet' cake show on cable? Enjoy!

Lark said...

this is awesome! my husband would have loved this!

Post a Comment