GORGEous Cakes by Kris: BEE-liever

Sunday, October 19, 2008

BEE-liever

This cake was for my Church's Sunday School Teachers training meeting, whose theme is "Busy Bees: Making BEE-lievers in Jesus Christ". I made the little bees out of gum paste and strung them on "invisible" tread, hanging from floral wire. Gold Luster Dust gives a realistic looking "pollen" dusting to the busy bees wings. The spice cake is carved and decorated to look like the hive. I left the icing "rough" with air bubbles to give it an organic texture. I think it turned out pretty cute!

How It All Began...

Once upon a time in 1996, a girl named Kris married a guy named John. Kris' very best friend personally attended Kris in all of the typical wedding needs of a bride. However, Kris would allow VERY little to escape her personal realm of "control," so the entire reception dinner (feeding 25 dear and precious friends) was personally made by her, including her own, simple yet lovely, wedding cakes.

Kris learned a very valuable lesson that day... BRIDES should ALWAYS have their receptions, no matter the size, 100% CATERED!

A few years later, the church that Kris and John attended hosted a pot luck.

Kris sat at a table where a beautiful young woman was discussing her up and coming wedding. It seemed that there were many details that needed to be taken care of. When the beautiful young woman mentioned that she was still looking for someone to make a wedding cake, the simple minded Kris piped up and announced that She had made her own wedding cakes! Well, the beautiful young bride-to-be became very excited and quickly asked, "would you make mine?," to which the not-quite-sharp-enough-to-be-cheddar Kris replied, "Sure!"

On the drive home from that pot luck, Kris shared her happy news with John, who, registering a degree of shock on his otherwise sweet face. John exclaimed, "KRIS!?!? Don't you think that the beautiful, young bride-to-be is going to probably have more than 25 people at her wedding???" To which Kris' expression morphed into a short of fogged bewilderment. John then added, "AND, don't you think that the beautiful, young bride-to-be is going to expect her cake to LOOK like a PROFESSIONAL cake???" to which Kris found herself shrinking into the seat of the car; her face registering a pained look of PURE PANIC!!!!

After recovering from a just-missed, near mental breakdown, Kris got serious and researched cake decorating (which caused her to also have to practice DEEP BREATHING and relaxation learned from previous birthing classes).

It was soon apparent that Kris was in-"WAY-over-her-head.' She held a meeting with the beautiful, young bride-to-be and her dashingly handsome groom-to-be to discuss the details of the cake that they were expecting Kris to provide. Kris conducted the interview with the outward crisp-coolness of any self-respecting cucumber.

It was revealed during that pivotal dialogue, that the bride loved and desired a Banana cake and that the groom loved and desired a Chocolate cake! Kris, in all of her unchallenged and proven brilliance, volunteered the following sage wisdom of marriage: "Marriage is all about learning to compromise in love. So, let's start that process with your cake! What do you think about having a Chocolate-Banana cake?" The ecstatic Bride and the Groom LOVED that idea and solidified their decision. Chocolate-Banana Cake it was to be!!

WELL, guess what?? Kris could find NO recipes for Chocolate-Banana cake!!! There were NO recipes to be found for Banana-Chocolate cake!!! NOT EVEN ONE!

Kris finally took her head out of the deflated brown paper bag, feeling much better after, again, practicing the deep breathing exercises, and decided, with a steeled resolve, that all was not lost.

Over the next few months she conducted experiments with recipes, the results of which caused her beloved John to add daily to the girth of his belly. Some of the resulting "cakes" were delegated to the trash (never to be spoken of again...), while others were considered to be mildly successful.

Kris then had a epiphany and enrolled in a course that was offered at Michaels Craft store. She learned, through the Wilton Cake Decorating class (for dummies) that God had, indeed, given her a hidden and precious talent that was to develop and become a major passion in her life!

At the end of this long and life altering process, a cake was born. A Chocolate-Banana cake that caused the Bride's father weep with happiness! A cake that was every bit as beautiful as a professionally decorated cake is expected to be. A cake that began as an innocent act of an imbecile, volunteering to do the impossible, and learning VOLUMES about herself in the process. A cake that introduces the hundreds of cakes that follow it in the "Kris' Cakes" photo album, a brag book typically reserved for darling pictures of adorable grandchildren!

That spring-board, milestone event marked the very specific moment when Kris realized that she was Born to Bake and Decorate CAKE.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The End.

GORGEous Cakes by Kris

Sunday, October 19, 2008

BEE-liever

Welcome to GORGEous Cakes by Kris!

All About

How It All Began...