Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Every breath you take, Every Cake you make

As tradition goes, one of the most important item for any birthday is the Cake. We all love to blow the candles and cut the cake. Its that kind of fun which is timeless. We would enjoy it no matter how old we grow. However as the age increases the number of candles goes up, and when the candles start to cost more than the cake, we can be assured that we have really become old. Thankfully I'm not there yet.

In schools and colleges, birthdays were occasion of get-togethers, parties, booze, and how can i not forget the dreadful birthday bums. Not many gave so much thought on cake. It was like we need to have one for sure, but it doesnt matter what type of cake it is. So we usually picked it up from Ralphs or Walmart. It was easy to select a cake. There were just 4 variables - the flavor,the color, the add-ons like pistas and cherries, and finally the size.

My whole viewpoint completely changed in our bride and groom shower last year, when I saw a cake which totally blew the heck out of me. It actually had our childhood photos on it which we supposedly could also eat !! Now when did that technology come out ?? What other advancements have come in the field of cakes ?? I had no clue. I dont' watch food network, so that makes me totally ignorant of anything to do with food stuffs. This was how our cake looked.

Pretty cool right ?? A Cake with a theme. However i felt bad when everyone munched on our faces..hmmm...When I was young, I guess there were themed cakes, sad part is that I don't remember cutting one. But I do see these days not only all kids get well designed birthday cakes, they also have a special theme for their birthdays. Lucky dogs...

In a quest to wipe out my ignorance about cake art, I did some googling and came across a lot of websites which showcased some mindboggling cake designs...totally out of the world..Look at this Russian website for example Russian Cake Art. All the cakes in the pictures can be eaten without any part being left. No plastics or any other artificial stuff have being used. I've never seen anything like them before in my whole life. Looking at them I feel its high time cake artists should be recognized like painters.I mean c'mon, its a lot of detailed work. Here's a blog which shows beautiful American Cake art with a humorous twist. Very funny cakes they have. They even made an iPhone as a cake, which by no way i would eat :). Check it out here American Cake Art

Its good to see that people have taken cake art very seriously. Great creative cakes can make occasions such as birthdays and weddings even more memorable. Even my wife got inspired to do her own creative cake and didnt order one from store for my birthdays. I was very thrilled to see my last yrs b'day cake which looked like one of my nextel phones having m n m's as the keys of the phone.

And this yr she decided to make a keyboard piano cake. Now considering the fact that she doesn't watch food network, nor does she read about cakes and various decorating tips for cakes, I thought this was a cute cake.

My other friend made a blue cake with a spiderman theme. She had also started making different cakes as a hobby which now has turned into a home business.

So I guess one doesnt really need prior experience in making beautiful cakes. If they are dedicated, have patience, think out of the box and are artistic, they can surely do wonders with cake. Just imagine how thrilled a baskeball game lover would be if he gets to cut a birthday cake which looks like basketball. Of for that matter, imagine how much excited Ferrari lover would be when he gets to cut a cake which looks Ferrari. hmmm...I think it would be an absolute bliss. Ok now I can't wait for my next birthday....

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