While here in Vegas it is all to common to hear the phrase "C'mon Papa needs a new pair of shoes" being shouted at every Craps table in every casino, so I knew at some point I would get to make a pair of shoes for someone...I didn't necessarily think I would be commissioned to make a pair of golf shoes...But hey, I always say "You Dream it, I'll Bake it!"
Strangely enough it was my boyfriend Andrew who couldn't think of a great gift for his brother Gavin's birthday. His birthday was three days away and he said to me "Ya know, a Golf Cake would be a great gift" and I said "yea it would"...and continued reading my magazine. He could not possibly be thinking that I had time to bake and decorate a cake in three days while we had visitors in town, I was in school and had a million other things to do...Ummm I was WRONG...he not only expected me to make the cake, he actually placed the order! Lucky for him I gave him a family discount and just charged him the cost of ingredients...(Between you and I, Andrew definitely could not afford me..haha, I kid, I kid!)
Okay, so I am secretly really excited about this Golf Cake, the only problem is..."Golf Cake" is pretty general, what KIND of "Golf Cake"? We discussed some options, a giant golf ball, a golf scene, a landscaped hole, a golf bag and then...we decided...Golf Shoes would be fun!
Now I was pumped...I get really excited about cakes when I first get an order or an idea that I can barely sleep (i know I have issues) but really that is how much love goes into each cake (don't worry, the love I put into each cake is NON-Toxic). I have the same progression of feelings when I begin a cake creation starting with the moment the idea is thought up;
1. Pure Excitement (I'm talking trip to Disney World, Christmas Day kind of excitement)
2. Anxiety (During the shopping and baking steps I work myself up...what if my creation is not as good as I am planning it!!!)
3. Joyful once again during the early creative stages
4. Frustration because I wish i had a huge bakery kitchen and a few extra (useful) hands
5. Exhaustion because I am a perfectionist and cannot stop working until everything is in place
6. I always finish off with this Totally Excited, Happy, Proud feeling and cannot wait to deliver the cake and get some feedback (although I am super hard on myself and DO ALWAYS think I will do even better the next time around)
Okay, sorry...back to the Golf Shoes. So, this cake is for Gavin, an avid Golfer, pure Genius, meticulous perfectionist and a very lucky NEW DADDY of a very beautiful baby girl! My point is, I cannot just slap together some golf shoes and call it a day, I need to do a good job or I may as well make an edible receipt to go with those shoes...He knows his stuff and is picky (as he should be) when it comes to his golf "equipment", right down to the golf balls he uses...I can't slip in any old, generic golf ball on this guy.
I let Andrew pick the flavors and he chose chocolate cake and peanut butter frosting (I know, quite the surprise). I decided to switch up the recipes I usually use and made a fudge-like, almost brownie, chocolate cake with a light, peanut butter buttercream. I made four HUGE cakes and stacked and frosted repeatedly. Then I went to work carving them into shoes...
...Not the easiest part of the process but it's not like it is going to get any easier from this point on.
Then I just piled on the details. These shoes were really looking good. I made little gold, metallic shoelace holes and some shoe laces and then just added some grass. I thought I needed to throw in some tees and some golf balls so I asked Andrew what kind of golf balls Gavin used and of course they were Pro V 1 Titleist (as if I had the slightest clue what these looked like) so I Googled them. Nope, not simple, Detailed...of course. But I must say those golf balls came out great and looked just like the real thing!
I was even happier when Andrew delivered the cake and said Gavin loved it...glad I didn't need that receipt after all!
And YES, EVERYTHING on this cake is entirely edible!
I kinda love to see pictures of my cakes all cut up...Weird, I know!
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