Ifs, Ands, and a Predictable Pun...

I was told, or read, that the "original" Baby Rump cake started out as a full Sleeping Baby cake. Following the shower at which it was served, all that remained of the Sleeping Baby cake was the tail-end; a diaper clad baby butt with chubby legs and feet tucked under it. Either by a twist of providence or some expert trimming, the cake remnant had a completeness that inspired the original or a subsequent baker to replicate just the hind-quarters portion of the original cake design and the Baby Rump cake was born. Or so the story goes.

 Looking like a case of Solomon's wisdom gone awry, the Baby Rump cake is one of those cute oddities that defy reason.

An adult playing with with a baby or a small child might say something like, "You're so cute I could just eat you up!" and even pretend to nibble on the child. If one interprets this as an expression of affection it is "cute" but taken literally it is quite horrifying. The Baby Rump cake precariously straddles the razor's edge between "absolutely precious" and "disgusting," ready to tip either way based on the viewer's perception. Call it a Sleeping Baby Rump cake and it's cute; call it a Severed Baby Rump cake and it's perverse.

 I am amused by odd imagery and that amusement influences my cake decorating style. I gained a bit of notoriety for placing a dead Vladimir Lenin in a Hot Dog Bun atop a cupcake in parody of several other decorator's odd cake themes. But, while I feel no desire to pander to "cute," I am not striving for "horrific" either. When dealing with half a baby, it seems to me you're forced down of these paths or the other.

Not one to rely solely on my own perception as my guide, I brought up the subject of the Baby Rump cake with my sister who is a dedicated mother of five and a published children's author. Her question was simple. "Where would you put the candles?"

Live and Learn

You know those cakes designed to look like a Barbie doll's dress? Increasingly, I am of the suspicion  that the doll should be inserted AFTER the cake is baked.

Listening to the Classics

Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The recording, beautifully narrated by Tim Curry, was a gift from my friends at Audible.com. 

Once again, I was reminded what a talented author Dickens was (and what a talented actor Tim Curry is). Dickens’s insight into human nature is just accurate and amusing—and sometimes frightening—as it was when he committed them to paper. There is a chapter in Nicholas Nickelby regarding the relationship between government and commerce that could have been written yesterday.

It is both reassuring and disturbing just how consistent human nature is. Reassuring because we don’t have to re-invent the societal wheel every couple of years. Disturbing because we as humans revel in the same foibles year after year.

Returning to my original point, if you haven’t read any Dickens lately—or at all—this would be a great year to give Charles Dickens a read…or a listen.

Permission to be Absurd

Clearly, you don’t need my permission before embarking on some personal absurdity but if you are waiting for a little nudge, I’m here to give it.

Strict conformity is the death knell of creativity. Most innovations in science, culture, and art are the result of people who did not fear the stain of absurdity.

Absurdity can be taken to extremes, however, and become the equivalent of stupidity. The strict avoidance of absurdity—or the fear of appearing absurd—frequently leads to the same end. And, once any absurdity reaches the point of regulation and legislation it has probably outgrown its usefulness.

Recognizing the difference between productive and non-productive absurdity can be difficult and often subjective. The inventor(s) of bell-bottom pants will likely be alternately deified and vilified as the cycles of fashion grind on and on.
I also doubt there is a one-size-fits-all brand of absurdity out there. When I encourage absurdity I’m not talking about anything on the scale of a social or political movement. Those require too much “inner conformity” in spite of how non-conformist the movement might appear to outsiders. I’m talking about absurdity in small groups where good absurdity can flourish and less productive absurdity can be easily identified and discarded.

CakeFX celebrates the valiant heroes of absurdity. And what better way to celebrate heroics than with cake? I’m talking about a really cool, one-of-a-kind cake. (You can see where I’m going with this.)

So, go ahead and be absurd. You might change the world by changing your own little corner of it. And when you do—if you are located within the CakeFX delivery area—we will be there to help you celebrate with a really cool cake.

Just Waiting for Those International Orders to Come Rolling In

I learned on Saturday that, thanks to the Washington Post column by the delightful Petula Dvorak, several of my creations were featured on the cover of the Verve section of the Star News in South Africa. CakeFX just went international. Sort of. Because delivery to South Africa is rather cost prohibitive.

"What Washington Post column?" you ask. Read it here at WashingtonPost.com.