Creation of a Cake

For all of you who heard my cry for prayers and actually prayed for me and the cake, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I could not have done it on my own.

When I checked on the largest layer of the cake while it was baking on Monday, everything looked great. I blogged a little and decided to check again when I was through. What I saw when I opened the oven was cake batter flowing out of the pan and into my oven. Just imagine your seventh grade volcano project being fluorescent green and you've got the picture.

I didn't get the chance to work on it again until Wednesday when the boys were napping. I began making the next layer (going easy on the amount of batter this time!) around 2 p.m. The rest of the day my kitchen looked like this.That day I was able to bake the three other layers as well as make the frosting, carve the hat, put it together, and put the base frosting on all of them.

I pried myself out of bed Thursday morning at 7:45 a.m. to get the boys to school and the gift bags to the three hotels where our guests were staying. From there Mackenzie and I met mom and Heather at the spa to get manicures and pedicures. What was supposed to end at 2 for me and Mackenzie ended at 4:30. I got home in time to change clothes feed the kids, begin the hounds tooth and get off to the bachelorette party.

When they headed to the third destination of the night around midnight, I said my goodbyes and jetted home to decorate the hat. I knew I was up way too late when Nelson walked in from the bachelor party and made it to bed before me.

By Friday morning I was finally set to do the writing on the cake. I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep, my nerves, my desire for perfection, or the fact that all three kids were awake and surrounding me on all sides watching, but my hands were shaking and my stomach was in knots. Whatever it was I was SO relieved when it was finished.

It was not perfect. And, the longer I looked at it the more imperfections I saw.

I found a willing friend to drive me, cake in lap, to the rehearsal dinner hall. I was an absolute wreck.
When Brian walked into the church that night for the rehearsal he found me and said, "That is THE COOLEST CAKE I have ever seen!" Suddenly, the lack of sleep and amount of hours invested seemed inconsequential.

I don't regret my decision to do the cake for Brian. I love my brother and I come from an Italian family where we show our love by feeding people. It's weird I know, but I do it anyway. I was honored to have the opportunity.

And, in the end, I have to admit. It was a pretty cool cake.