Cake Please

I've recently had the pleasure of working with a lovely client on a custom recipe piece. It is for a chocolate icing that her Mom has always made and spread on a 4-layer yellow cake. The family has this cake at special occasions and celebrations. It was so much fun to create that I thought I would share the process.

The client had a couple of photos of the cake from birthday celebrations. I was happy to have these so that I could see the cake on their favorite cake stand and one with a slice taken out. The client expressed that while this was a 6-layer cake, they usually made it with 4 layers. Of course, there is always room for artistic interpretation as well : )

Next up, was the Hershey's cocoa powder. Painting this was so much fun and I was very happy with the vintage look the container took on.

The client was also able to score a photo of a family recipe notebook. I removed a lot of extra information but decided to keep the printed words, INGREDIENTS and INSTRUCTIONS along with her Mom's handwriting to use as a background texture. 

This particular piece was created for a Mother's Day gift, but her siblings and Aunts will get prints too.


As anyone who has lost a family member knows, a person's handwriting is so special and personal. Using the handwritten recipes in these art pieces makes them into a family heirloom. When my father passed away, I created a scrapbook full of his diagrams, mementos and writing. It brought me comfort to keep all of these things preserved nicely together in one place. In much the same way, cooking a recipe that your family has handed down for generations is a way to continue heritage and tradition. Looking at a piece of art that doubles as a recipe while you are cooking is like, well … a beautiful living memorial.

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This icing is certainly one I will have to try some day. It got me thinking about cake quotes, including my favorite from Julia Child, which says, "A party without cake is just a meeting." 

Do you have any favorite family recipes or cake quotes to share?