Utah Festival of Trees Charity Cake

I know Christmas was three months ago. But like I said, I’m trying to catch up on the major things that have happened and I couldn’t consider things caught up without mentioning the Christmas tree cake for the Utah Festival of Trees. A few months ago, after being contacted by TLC, I decided that it would be to my advantage to put together a team just in case we were selected. So, I called a few of my cake friends and planned a time to get together for a test run…just to see how well we work together and how quickly we could get things done.

In the process of planning, we thought it would be fun to be able to donate the cake to a charity. We had already designed a Christmas tree cake, so I thought that I would check with the Utah Festival of Trees to see if they had a place for a 7 foot tall edible Christmas Tree.

Fortunately, the Festival Committee thought it was a great idea and they even arranged for us to be able to make the cake on site. It was a really good thing for me to get together with these talented decorators and see how team decorating works. It’s so very different from working on my own.

Here are a few things I learned from my experience:

1- Be overly prepared
We ended up not having the right sizes of structure and had to have my husband run to the hardware store for replacement parts. You can’t do that at a live competition. It needs to be perfect.

2- Work FAST
Time flies when you’re trying to put together a 7 foot tall cake in 8 hours.

3- Have a detailed timeline
I learned that with several assistants, it’s impossible to communicate to each one exactly what they should be doing at all times. They are not mind readers.

4- I have amazing and talented assistants/friends
Dianne Holgate of Cakes by Dee-sign in New Mexico
Tara Churchill in New Mexico
Paula Ames of Cake Creations in Idaho
Lynn Winter of Sugar Bakers in Idaho

Amazing Misfit Toys made by Dianne Holgate

Candy garland and candy ornaments made by Lynn Winter

Skater snowman. One of the many unique little guys made by Tara Churchill.

Snowflakes and toy drum made by Paula Ames

A sugar train with working engine made by myself.