Backhoe Cake

When is a backhoe not really a backhoe?  When it's a cake made by Diane Mora, of course!

This entirely edible backhoe was delivered to the annual holiday party of Kissick Construction Friday morning.  I'm proud to say that there are only 8 toothpick supports in the actual construction, which means everything else is entirely edible.

Here are a few pics of the work in progress for those of you who are curious about looking under the hood!  This cake took about 46 hours including research and planning, modeling, coloring, baking, and finally sculpting and construction.

Figure 1 RK's become tires with hubs.  Details like treads are important.

Figure 2 Cab and tractor base are cake.  Hood is made of RK's.

Figure 3 Body coat is fondant.

Figure 4 Little details...hydraulics, exhaust, windows, and "branding"

In the end, I traveled 30 minutes and drove over three sets of railroad tracks to the delivery site, which was nerve wracking.  I finished putting the delicate arms in place on-site with 30 minutes to spare before party time.

Figure 5 A moment of silence, please. An entire box of Teddy Grahams gave their life to create "dirt" for the final display.  That's cocoa powder "dust" on tires, and chocolate fondant earth on a two-layer cake.  The Kissick Construction sign is edible as well.  Ta-da!!!

Check next week's blog for cookie and cupcake photos from several of my holiday events.

Be well!

Holiday Giving Comes in Many Forms

Pics of holiday cookies I donated to KC Hospice last week.  I've been doing 11th Hour volunteering with them and other hospice programs since 2004.  If you're looking for a great place to be a volunteer, there are many ways to be of service throughout this wonderful organization.

 Earlier in the week I made a volunteer appearance to benefit CCVI.  I had the honor of judging Gingerbread Lane at Crestwood Shops.   Mission Hills Country Club walked away with this year's top honors for a traditional yet whimsical entry.  I loved everything about the design - especially the see-through windows and interior vignettes.  The very talented Pastry Chef, Jemaly Peterson, proves she knows how to work with scale as well as detail.  

Hats off to the entry by the Argosy Casino team, too.  I'm happy to report that everyone made my job of scoring the entries very difficult!  There's an unbelievable amount of culinary skill in KC.  Thanks for letting me be a part of it.

D. Bruener of Prairie Village sent the following text about holiday themed cupcakes I made for her birthday.  "Cupcakes are heavenly!" (Thanks for the snaps, Mrs. B.)

Back to the kitchen, for me.  Have  a great week!

California Dreamin'

Less than 12 hours before my take-off to Santa Cruz, I delivered a Mickey and Minnie cake to Judy in Mission Hills, Kansas. After devouring the cake, she sent the following text to California, "Hi Diane. Cake was 2 cute and gr8 taste." Use my comment section to tell me what you think.

No problems passing through security with Rachels’ birthday cake in hand. However, I did have to remove my shoes and scarf.

Visions of cake danced in my head nearly the entire trip. The pastry chefs at the famed, San Francisco Fairmont Hotel, created a life-size gingerbread house. No fooling. I am actually standing INSIDE a 19 x 16 x 8 foot gingerbread house!