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A splash of red here, a spatter of yellow there, and a well defined petal place just exactly on the outer edge of center is the beginning of a still life that will eventually be consumed. It's a cake. A birthday cake made of frosting, Starburst candies, fruit leather and Necco wafers for the terracotta pot.

For those with an eye for color and a creative touch to use various mediums, cakes are a great way to express the hidden talents of the stay at home moms to the professional pastry chefs.

The perfect combination of art and cake results in a great tasting dessert. The wedding cake that looks so handsome with flourishes of frosting dangling from the edges of a five tiered cake can bring disappointment to the pallet of the bud if it is dry and tasteless. The eye works together with the pallet and when the two agree, perfection is achieved.

Before any decorating takes place, the type of cake is the medium by which all other mediums rest. Should it be chocolate, lemon flavor with lemon curd between the layers, or perhaps spice cake for fall celebrations? Lemon with raspberry filling is a refreshing change from chocolate and Angel Food is a twist that keeps people coming back for more.

The type of frosting is very important to the ending result of the cake. People are very particular where frosting is concerned. Do you like the old fashioned powdered sugar and shortening combination or the taste of the light fluffy stabilized whipping cream? If the frosting is wrong for the flavor of the cake, guests will notice and be disappointed.

After the right frosting is determined for the kind of cake, there is the question of color. Are food coloring drops the right product to use for the right color or is colored powder or paste the best. How much should be used? Perhaps someone is allergic to red #40. These are a few of the many questions asked to prepare for the "sitting".

Just as the canvas is important to an artist so is the cake. Should it be round, rectangle, square or petal shaped. What is the purpose? What idea is being portrayed? Is it for a birthday or wedding? What about a Halloween cake: black frosting with red interior? The themes are limitless, just as the expression of an artist with paint and canvas.

The difference between the finished canvas and the decorated cake is time. Time can enhance or fade a painting. It will continue on and be enjoyed or rejected by art enthusiasts. For the cake, time and consumer is its killer. Take a picture.

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Mckinley.
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