I haven’t done a cookbook giveaway in AGES, and I apologize about that. And the book that I am giving away today isn’t exactly a cookbook, but the behind the scenes look at what happens at that wacky, amazing place called Charm City Cakes. I will get to that giveway eventually, but as usual you are going to have to suffer through the backstory, which I have titled “The Teenager’s Sculpture Class Final,” otherwise known as “don’tTry This At Home.”
So, the teenager has been taking a sculpture class in school this year, which has resulted in a beautiful green bowl that sits on my desk, a life mask that she made by layering plaster all over her face (I’m glad I found out about that one AFTER it happened), and various different incarnations in pottery of the Joker from the Batman movie. The final exam for this class, however, took the cake. Literally. The assignment was this: sculpt something out of food.
The teenager, being the teenager, decided that the very best thing to sculpt out of food would be a life-size electric guitar. I immediately cancelled any plans I had for cooking anything in my kitchen that night.
So, armed with mounds and mounds of cake, frosting, M&Ms and licorice, the sculpting began. First the cake was painstaking carved out according to a pattern she had made, and put on a platform of heavy foam core. Luckily I was not home for this part, because I think it would have given me a nervous breakdown. Then she slowly, methodically, painstakingly began applying the frosting and the M&Ms in sections.
Frosting first, then M&Ms applied in a pattern that matched the look of the guitar she was modeling this thing after.
One M&M by one M&M at a time.
“Pwweeaaase can I have some???”
Then came the Twizzler guitar strings, measured, cut and applied with frosting “glue.”
“PUHWEEEEEAAAASE???????”
I have to say, I had my doubts. Big, serious, doubts. But dang if the girl didn’t pull it off. She brought it in, got a A on the final, and then became a minor celebrity in school as she carried the thing around for the rest of the day giving away slices.
So in celebration of the end of school, a good report card, and a job well done, I’m giving away two copies of the fabulous book ACE OF CAKES, with my heartfelt advice not to try any of this at home. Enter this giveaway by leaving me a comment telling me your favorite cake. (My wonderful email subscribers – click on the title of this post and it will take you to the website where you can leave your comment.) I will let you know next Saturday who the two lucky winners are.
And if your cake suggestion doesn’t involve a thousand M&Ms, I might even try to make it.
WOW she did an amazing job. So impressive.
My favorite cake is spice cake with chocolate frosting. yum.
my fav cake – sandra lee's marble sour cream cake. it is super easy, and a huge crowd-pleaser.
awesome! said just like the 'duffster'. best cake? hands down my own carrot cake w/ white chocolate ganache. it's hard to pick one, but i think that's the one that can make me drool on command.
That cake looks awesome!! "Nice work" to your teenager!
My favorite cake (especially good for summer) is the Chocolate Grasshopper Cake from the Grit in Athens, GA. The cake uses chocolate and coffee, which makes it taste extra moist and chocolatey, and the icing is minty, chocolate chippy deliciousness!
I love almond flavored white cake with almond flavored icing. Its basically birthday cake with white icing. Great looking cake!
Your daughter did an absolutely fantastic job on that cake!!! One word…AWESOME!!!
My favorite cake has to be chocolate, chocolate, with even more chocolate…plus, the creamiest, dreamiest chocolate icing!!!
What an amazing job she did on that cake! It looks fabulous. My favorite cake is a strawberries & cream roll cake- like a jelly roll, but full of strawberries and whipped cream instead.
That is an awesome guitar cake.
My favorite cake is red velvet. Mmmmm…
I love a chocolate cake with coffee in the ingredients and a reallllly good peanut butter frosting.
Beautiful cake!
Usually a chocolate nut, my current favourite is a moist and flavourful lemon cake with a lemon filling between the layers and a white chocolate ganache icing.
I am very impressed with this cake-I am not sure if I would have had the patience.
I forgot to tell you my favorite cake-lemon cake with a lemon curd and cream on top topped off with berreis.
Please don't enter me in the giveaway, but I just wanted to say that your daughter did an AMAZING job with the guitar cake!!! (Even more amazing that she didn't eat half of it before she got to class. Which, is what I certainly would have done.)
Amazing cake! I'm not sure I'd have the patients for all those M&M's!
My favorite cake is a pistachio cake that uses pistachio pudding mix in the cake and frosting. It also uses 7up in the cake. It's so light and refreshing for a hot summer day. Plus it's a cool greenish color!
Wow…she is really patient…amazing cake
My favorite cake is a Sascher torte
My favorite cake? A toss-up between red velvet and my mom's homemade yellow cake with chocolate icing!
Her cake is great… I love it! My favorite cake is white cake with buttercreme frosting (wedding and birthday are the best)!
My favorite cake is an ice cream cake or a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing!
Absolutely beautiful! You have a very talented teen… must take after her mom! Current favorite cake… champagne cupcakes..
Your daughter is so smart, that was quite the cake!!
My favorite cake is a moist carrot cake with cream cheese icing
The go-to cake for me has always been yellow cake with chocolate frosting. So classic.
My Mom's sour cream pound cake with a zillion-calorie recipe from the 70's. She still makes it occasionally and it's one of the most profound food memories I've ever had.
I love any kind of cake really! I'd have to say that my favorite is the ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.
She did a great job! My favorite cake is probably mocha-crunch cake. I don't know if I'm the only person that makes it but I made it up–it's a devil's food cake with mocha buttercream and toffee bits pressed into the sides. mmmm. I sell decorated cakes on the side but I stick with pretty simple decorations…maybe this book will inspire me to kick it up a notch!
Wow, what a cake! My favorite is the chocolate raspberry cake I made for my husband's birthday this year. It was awesome!
Awesome job!
My favorite cake is this white cake with raspberry filling and butter cream icing. Yum!
Life size! I'm impressed. My favorite cake to make is a vanilla poppyseed with raspberry filling.
Amazing job! I wouldn't even have tackled that. Side note: My son and I got to meet the Ace of Cakes crew (Duff, Elena, and Geoff) when they were filming an episode in Franklin Grove, IL a few weeks ago. So I'd definitely love to win this cookbook! My favorite cake is a recipe I got from my ex mother in law: Kentucky Butter Cake. It's a yellow cake with a butter glaze and soooo good.
Great job on the guitar! I helped 2 of our grandsons do a similar project but we had a Wilson character pan to help us out. They wanted to do a NASCAR cake and it was easier for me to add a bit of frosting a little at a time and then them add the M&Ms. Worked out so well.
My favorite cake has got to be a yellow cake. And without icing is great with me.
PS I didn't realize there was an Ace of Cakes book out there!
My favorite cake is carrot cake!! I would choose that over anything else.
my favorite cake is italian cream cake…and this cake is absolutely incredibly! your daughter is amazing!
My favorite cake is my favorite because my mom and my aunt love it so much – it's a checkboard cake that my brother makes for them with special pans – frosting them with homemade frosting. These things are architectually amazing as well as visually appealing, and a yummy sweet treat!
I am what most would consider boring. give me a killer carrot cake, with a killer cream cheese frosting, and i am in heaven. I will eat it for dinner. I will eat it with a mouse. I will eat it on a house….. you get the picture.
Cake balls or ice cream cake
…very creative! One of my favorite cakes is White Chocolate cake with raspberry filling…
I'm a new follower – I found you on foodgawker. My fav cake has to be a simple vanilla cake with buttercream frosting. With a big scoop of chocolate ice cream!!!
My favorite cake would have to be a plain ol' white cake with vanilla frosting….yum!
My very favorite cake ever is Better Than Sex cake….yeah baby! It's so easy to make any one of your youngest precious darlin' children could do it and it tastes like love and sin got happy together in the bowl…..If you've never had this and would like the recipe, please email me at meeshieb67@gmail.com and btw, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your website and I think your pictures and recipes are fabulous..you rock, Ree!!
Caramel cake is our favorite. I found a caramel pound cake recipe from cooking light that even works in the fancy "train" bundt pan my folks gave us for my son's third birthday. We pop the caramel cakes out of the mold and decorate them much like this with candies from the bulk section at target. However, even with the whole thing, all put up, it was never this big! here is my son blowing out his candles – http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UQoq8QBTRac/SqwcFb-NYII/AAAAAAAAEy8/8u2bQ5i4QJo/s1600-h/4+candles.JPG – elegant? no. Fun? you bet!
that's awesome and amazing. most amazing cuz your daughter did it! love this post.