The Next Cake Boss

There's no doubt I get my creativity from my mother. Everything from decorating pillow cases to putting the finishing touches on a pistachio salad... There was a lot of "presentation" going on.

Sometime during my childhood, she decided to take a cake-decorating class through the Community Education program at school. She loved it. And she did a good job with it. From birthday ballerinas to bunny rabbits, there was a lot creativity behind those calories.

From time to time, I've dabbled in the decorating myself. Not to the extent she did. I can't make those flowers or perfect borders, but I can at least make it look homemade (even if it looks like a grade-schooler did it).

Earlier this week I volunteered to bring the cake up to my mom's birthday party this weekend. With a four-hour drive, I thought it was the easiest thing to do. Order it from a local bakery, pick it up Sunday morning on the way out of town, then not have to worry about keeping it hot or cold for the noon meal. Perfect, stress-free plan.

But then my son -- who is addicted to that TV show Cake Boss -- had other ideas.

He drags out his sketch pad, measures off a 9x13 rectangle and starts drawing. "This is how the Cake Boss does it," he said, then asks if we're going to be using fondant. Oh yes, he really pays attention to the Boss. And no, we are not.

He just started drawing and assuming that "we" can handle this. I don't know. His design concept looks do-able but we'll have to spend all Saturday doing it.

I guess if it looks too homemade, I can say middle-schooler did it! I will have to have him do some of it. He can't be the next Cake Boss until he is a Cake Slave first.

Yum. I'm pretty sure I'd love that job!