Sunday Sweets: Miss Independent
July 4, 2010 Today we get to look at some of America's best birthday cakes. :)
By CC (aka Cake Central) member sugarchiconeI don't feature sheet cakes too often here on Sunday Sweets, but this one is postcard-perfect; and all buttercream! Those are some sweet piping skills.
Another that looks almost too perfect to be real:
By Spring Lake CakeLove the bow.
By CC member tcamPlus, this cake was beautiful *inside* as well as out:
Surprise!And then CC member themaytrix took the hidden flag idea to the next level:
Sweeeet.If you read the Reader's Digest, you may remember this couple:
This is Ralph Archbold & Linda Wilde, who play Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross in Old City Philadelphia. When they got married (on July 3rd, no less!) this was their wedding cake:
And here's the gazebo the band would play in:
Proving that simple can also be stunning:
Believe it or not, those daisies are also gumpaste. Gorgeous!
Here's a cool idea, and executed flawlessly:
CC member mimiguk wrote the words to the national anthem as the stripes in the flag. Painstaking, I'm sure, but oh-so-perfect! (Just looking at all that script makes my hand cramp. Yow.)And speaking of our national anthem, here's a cake celebrating its writing:
By MixinVixen
By KupKake TreeHappy Belated Canada Day! Sorry again for almost forgetting it on Thursday.
Fortunately, most of you Canadians both know what your national anthem is AND have a sense of humor, but a select few who don't on both counts were "patriotic" enough to write angry e-mails and leave goofy cake blogs over an imagined maligning of said anthem. [sigh]
So, for those still here who were offended: wrong song, and we certainly meant no offense. We love Canada. We love Canadians. Your bacon is awesome, William Shatner is da man, and we like that Celine Dion song...um...well, her music is Ok. So, yeah. Hope the beaver cake makes up for everything. Wreck on, eh?
Reader Comments (125)
thank you for featuring our own ben and betsy in today's pix. ralph and linda archbold are wonderful city representatives and together they bring old city philadelphia history alive for our visitors.
now go shoot off some fireworks!
Amazing cakes! I love the national anthem-themes one!
Now...not to be nit-picky, but how is it that so many of the flags on the cakes have the wrong amount of stripes?
AWESOME!!!
I had never heard of that Epcot song before. Hmm. Live and learn.
This isn't our national anthem either, but is excellent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWQf13B8epw&feature=related
Apologies for my fellow countrymen (country people?) with no sense of humour. They must be from Ontario.
*ducks*
I've been following this blog forever, but this is the first time I've felt compelled to comment (I'm usually laughing too hard to type!)
First off, let me just say that today's Sweets are gorgeous!
Now, as for my fellow Canadians, please don't let the anal-retentiveness of a few discolour your opinions of us ALL. We are a fun country, really!
I agree with Cdn, y'all can keep Celine, and Pamela Anderson and Shania Twain right along with her, but James Gosling, Russell Peters, Wilfred Bigelow, Todd McFarlane, John Callaghan, Jim Carrey, Robert Naismith, Keanu Reeves and Shannon Tweed are OURS! :)
Happy Independence Day, USA!
I'm sorry about the angry emails, but I did giggle a bit. You stated it was an Epcot song - does anyone else see the delicious irony of people misunderstanding the reference? Is that Epcot squared or something?
I love Canada too - one of my bestest friends is Canadian and he's got a brilliant sense of humour. Plus Wolverine comes from Canada :D
my comment to myself upon seeing the first cake was "i LOVE the bunting!" and then the cakes just got better and better and better! thanks for a fabulous 4th of July post. Happy Independence Day, Jen and John! and Happy Birthday America!
w.v. reken: I reken that there are the coolest patriotic cakes out there!
We love you here in Canada, and please don't mind those who are humourless. If they can't see that it was meant to be sarcastic (duh- a VERY Canadian trait, eh?) then I say 'good riddance and don't let the door hit you on the way out'.
It seemed kind of awesome that one could think the US would have a "let's talk about how awesome Canada is" day. :)
Happy Fourth of July!
I am in absolute awe of those layer cakes... I was just reading an article advocating the banning of food dyes, but I will happily imbibe, despite the threat of hyperactivity.
It's a well known secret that most Canadians actually despise Celine Dion.
-Stephanie
:D Awesome cakes! I'm especially impressed with the one that are flags on the inside.
<3 Happy 4th of July
and <3 Happy Canada day!
These cakes are so gorgeous (not to mention labor intensive)! Also, I'm from Baltimore (home of Ft. McHenry, Francis Scott Key, etc., etc.) and I have to say, I love "O Canada." It's a way better anthem than "The Star-Spangled Banner"; easier to sing and more melodic. When the O's play Toronto, I like to sing both of 'em!
I like the Canada cake best! And my husband, who was raised in Montreal, assures me that most Canadians share our disdain for Celine Dion. :)
Today is my birthday and I have been looking forward to Sunday Sweets 4th of July edition for a long time! These are great!
Mel
Another Canadian who was not offended. Its your sense of humor that makes your blog just the best for me. I wonder what those people who complained thought of South Park's Blame Canada song. Happy 4th.
Ok, so I missed Thursdays post (Damn life!!), so when I heard you say so many people were offended, I had to look! Really? I thought you were (as usual) hilarious and spot on. As a proud Canuck, I say keep 'em coming! Wreckerators know no boundries!
Loved all the cakes - and I'm Canadian and not the least bit offended by anything you post.
I'm glad you love Canadians. We love you... and we cringe when we go to Epcot and see the representation of Canada... log house, mine and lumberjacks (and Chateau Frontenac)? Really? How can we blame the rest of the world for thinking that's all we are when that's all we show them? The EPCOT song is corny, but hey, the movie is great. Who doesn't love Martin Short?
All I want to know is: when are you coming to Toronto on a Cake Wrecks tour? Huh? HUH?
PS Most Canadians are awfully glad that Celine Dion has left the country. You can keep her... we'll pay you..please?
Thanks for the Beaver and Happy 4th of July to you guys, eh!!
WOW!!! Those cakes are amazing. I'm insired to try the hidden flag style. I feel all patriotic inside! Great pics!
Ok, nitpickers who are upset about the number of stripes on the cake with the words of the national anthem, YOU write it out and fit it perfectly on only 7 lines (since there are 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes). I'm completely impressed at the skill of the decorator to write it so beautifully.
I'm another Canadian who wasn't offended and who thinks it's lame in the extreme that anyone was. We're not all like that. Really, we're not!
I get a kick out of Americans making fun of Canada because they generally use the most obvious stereotypes from which to draw humour... beavers, moose, our politeness, the cleanliness of our cities, "Eh?," hockey, curling, etc. Even the Simpsons fell back onto the stereotypes when they did that episode where they went to Toronto. It amuses me. Canadians know that we offer a lot more than that and we shouldn't feel threatened by playful jabs no matter where they come from. People need to lighten up.
These cakes are pretty awesome. Especially the one with the Star Spangled Banner written out. What a creative idea!
too bad there weren't more canada day cake wrecks for you to put up. as a canadian i feel profoundly ashamed that i let my country down in such a way. from now on i shall visit grocery store bakeries before canada day to be sure to get a few wreck pics (or sweet hits) if i can.
as to the song from epcot, did you know that since the lyrics changed some years ago, most canadians *don't* know the words to the national anthem? it's true. a lot of them pretend and lip sync at events where they are supposed to sing it. so don't let the nay sayers and grumps get to you.
happy 4th.
Long time lurker, but I just had to comment on my love for the Fort McHenry cake! My father was the chief ranger there in the late 80's, and I remember playing in the "dungeons" as a kid. The cake version is
SO COOL! Thanks for posting!
Happy b-day to our southern neighbors....
Thanks to all the Canadians for reassuring you that we found it funny... and thanks for keeping Celine and Shania (or whoever has her right now) ... We like knowing that people know us well enough to poke fun at us... we sure enjoy laughing at ourselves :-)
Wow some of these were really innovative and amazing... Happy 4th everyone!
check out my blog: nikkiscakery.blogspot.com
Aw, cute little beaver cake!
As a canadian, I wasn't the least bit offended by the canada cake wrecks, and I am rather embarrassed by the wet socks who are so devoid of their sense of haha, well, they shall not have ANY cake.
I have lots of US friends who didn't know what canada day was, and were delighted to learn.
So it's all good, and it's all cake and happy respective national days, US and Canada.
Happy 4th!!
I have family on both sides of the border (though I am a Canuck by birth). I can't believe some were offended by your fantastic July 1st blog!
I'll take the adorable beaver cake (& the Shat), but you all have to keep Dion. ;P
Oh wow these are stunning cakes! I love the flag with the words to the Star Spangled Banner on it.. all of these cakes are just gorgeous and a wonderful way to celebrate the 4th!
It's the 5th now, so...
Happy Easily Offended People Day!! Clearly the celebrations have been building over the past few days, and those thin-skinned folk that have the most trouble with reading comprehension and controlling impulse blasting have really gotten into fine form to kick off the festivities! I'd like to see some Easily Offended People Day cake wrecks now, please.
I apologize for the Canadians without a sense of humour. What they were doing reading your blog, I have no idea, but hopefully they are gone now. Out of 34 million people, there's got to be a few twits. Unfortunately.
And the beaver was cute :) I don't think I've ever actually seen a real one, but... I've seen bald eagles!
On to more important things: STUNNING cakes! Kyle's firecrackers, the flags inside the cakes, the stars-and-stripes-forever cake, the gazebo, the anthem flag... There's hope yet for designers with imagination, style, creativity, sense of fun, and well-placed patriotism! Hope everyone had a fun and meaningful 4th!
Anonymous, I have read all the comments and not one single person complained about the number of lines on the hand-written cake. The 15 stripes complaints were for the 5th cake which had one extra red and one extra white and could easily have been made with the correct number without compromising the cake. The other 15 striper was the one with the flowers & the flag draped down the front. That flag, although done beautifully, had an extra white stripe at the top and bottom. Nobody left any negative comments about the expertly piped anthem cake.
They are all nice, but it seems that noone knows how many stripes are actually on the American flag. There are 13, so while these are pretty, some of them are also wrecks.
I really like the cake with the writting but,I didn't know the Star Spangled Banner was a question....
Fellow Canadians, you're adorable for buying into one of our most-loved stereotypes by apologizing for everyone who got offended.
People will whine about anything (number of stripes on the flags?! SERIOUSLY guys!) so just a little note- Canadians CAN take a joke (mostly) but maybe not about our country on the day we celebrate it.
WrathOfDawn- yeah, you better duck.
I think maybe the problem is that a lot of Canadians had no idea what this "Epcot song" is.
I'm Canadian and although I wasn't offended by that other post, I had no clue what you were talking about. Isn't Epcot some kind of Disneyland thing? That's not exactly in our backyards, so a lot of us have never seen it/heard the song/have any inkling what it actually is.
It's either that, or maybe some people thought it was just another example of (many) Americans' complete and utter ignorance about anything Canadian (other than hockey and beer.)
I am glad to see that the beaver is less pooey than it could well have been.
Still, I think Canadians have let the side down by not providing more Canada Day wrecks (and more Sweets!).
And to all those idiots who sent irate emails.... As a Canadian, I can state hat they don't represent all Canadians.
Here is a traditional welcome to Canada http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sekLEG8xsOs
Okay, so I'm OCD about the lyrics to the anthem and I really feel bad about pointing this out, but there is one textual problem with the anthem cake: it's "through the perilous fight" not "through the perilous flight".
Renee--
You didn't know the Star Spangled Banner was a question? Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it starts out "Oh say can you see" and the last line of the first verse starts "Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave...." Those are both questions, right? Or are you asking something more profound, and I'm just not getting it?
I believe the striped cake is the first doberge you've shown.
In New Orleans, they're everywhere, but only in New Orleans...
@Renee...The star spangled banner cake doesn't have ALL the lyrics on it. And where it does leave off, there is indeed a question mark.
The lyric is a question: "Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"
In other words, "does it still wave?"
Hi Jen and John,
Just another Canadian so NOT offended, but thanks for posting such a cute little RCMP beaver as a gesture of goodwill! Love it, love your blog.
Nice Beaver...
If they do start playing Stars and Stripes forever, just make sure you aren't standing in a circus tent at the time. If you are, please leave in an orderly fashion. Stampeding just makes the impending doom worse.
CC member mimiguk wrote the words to the national anthem as the stripes in the flag. Painstaking, I'm sure, but oh-so-perfect! (Just looking at all that script makes my hand cramp. Yow.)
What blows me away is the fact that she justified all the text! O_O Wow.
Angie
Wait a second. I'm looking at the cake for "Betsy Ross" and "Benjamin Franklin." Is it just me, or did htey stick PINS in the cake? OMG, that a wreck of a different kind waiting to happen!
I'm trying to decide if the 39 five-pointed stars on the script cake are sprinkles or hand-piped. Either way, that's another reason to have a hand cramp.
Ok I love these pics, but I don't really like the first one. I often hear, Happy Birthday America!, but technically it's not America's birthday. Just had to throw my two cents in. Should this be a wreck or a sweet?
Brian
Wow, the written-out SSB cake is AWESOME. The rest are gorgeous (the first one looks like something out of a Wilton yearbook, and the flag-within-a-cake entries just boggle the mind) but that one wins for sheer technical merit and decorating chutzpah.
And yes, rock on Canada, home of "You Can't Do That On Television" and "Kids in the Hall." =D
Anyone who thinks Canada is a land of ice and snow should come visit Montreal in the summer!
Please keep Celine Dion in America, Europe doesn't want her either.
I love these cakes! I must say though that I was surprised that no one said anything about the fact that the national anthem cake not only had 19 stripes, which I understand when you have to write out the words in script, but why did it have 39 stars? Did I miss something? 3 rows of 7 plus 3 rows of 6...And I don't think I've ever seen a question mark except at the end. Otherwise, beautiful cake!