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Cake for 100th birthday


CanadianBakin'

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My husband's grandad is celebrating his 100th birthday at the end of October and I need to make two cakes for it. I'll have no trouble with the cake and fillings it's the decorating I'm having a hard time with. I can follow a recipe no problem but I'm not very creative or visual which can be a bit of a handicap for decorating. A search on this forum came up with nothing and a google search didn't come up with much more.

My mother-in-law is hosting two small celebrations for him, a few days apart. The first will be for friends who arrive a few at a time over a couple hour period and the second for family. I think each cake will only need to feed about 20 but I still want to do something a bit special. My first thought is to at least make them 2-tier as I think right off the bat that gives them more WOW factor. But what colours? What kind of questions do you think I should ask him to get inspiration? Anniversaries have colours although I don't know if there's a colour for 100. ie. 25th is silver, 50th is gold, etc.

Anyways, just having a bit of a mental block and wondering if a few of you can help get my creative juices flowing.

Oh, couple things. At least one of them will be frozen until the day and I won't be there to set it up so I think that rules out fondant. Also, I don't know how to pipe roses and don't really have any interest in learning although I'm can get my way around a piping bag no problem, just not fancy flowers.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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I know you said tiered

but my first thought is to go with one of his interests...cars, fishing, travel, his hometown, and build a photo montage to have copied with the edible ink for placing on a sheetcake

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I have done several cakes for people that are older. I usually do a google search for the year they were born and look for interesting things that happened or inventions that were important. I will take a few of those ideas and make items such as an airplane or car or a poster of a political person or entertainer out of gumpaste. I have been able to print faces or pictures of cars onto rice paper and attach them to a gumpaste plaque. Then I do the same items, but how they look or people in the same type of job for the current year. Usually the things I make are pretty small and you could fit several on a cake. You could also do the same type of thing with important things that have happened to him during his life. If you are not up to making things like this, you could probably buy miniatures from a hobby shop.

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I love the idea of the tiered cake. It could easily show a progression of time. You'll definitely want to talk to him about his life, discover a theme of sorts, that followed him through out his journeys. It could be a hobby, inspiration or pursuit of his through the years. Did he enjoy success in a field of endeavor, was his a traditional role as son, father, grandfather, mentor? What were his high points?

Of course the diamond is the longevity symbol. The cake could travel up in color from diamond in the rough to a traditional diamond covered in sparkley luster dust of glitter. I'd probably choose this theme more for a woman than a man, but hey you never know it could work.

Good luck in this endeavor, and please keep up posted on your progress and pics when you're done. :smile:

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I've got the same idea as has been mentioned, umm go with his interests. Wow 100 years old. WOW what an honor.

I just always think chocolate on chocolate scroll work is so masculine and cake-y.

Yeah like show the 100 year progress of transportation or movies or food even or what does he like? That's often key in cake designing.

Or make it something that is the same today as it was 100 years ago, faith, hmmm, can't think of anything else that is still the same...agh...riding a horse or something?

When you defrost the frozen cake do it by gentle degrees y'know, from the freezer to the frige overnight to open air, watch for condensation. Oftentimes it will dissipate by itself and trying to blot it off will marr the cake's finish. But defrosting by gentle degrees will lessen the chances of condensation too.

Y'know ask him what was one of his favorite memories growing up. What does he want everyone to know about him that he thinks few people know. What's his proudest moment in his life. Maybe stuff like that. He wants to be a legacy so help him spit it out y'know without you necessarily saying it exactly.

This might be a dire question to some but how many wars has he been in? Some men are identified by their military service. What was his profession? What did he like most about it? Where has he traveled? Maybe ask him to give a memory for each decade of his life? What message does he want his great great great grandchildren to know from him?

I like to do 'this is your life' kinda cakes, where you just incorporate little momentos of the person's life all over the cake. Ask him what is his favorite silver lining? Maybe something like that.

Wow way too cool!

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  • 8 months later...

This is way after the event but I finally got pictures loaded on my computer. With not a lot of time or brain power :blink: I ended up having to do something quite simple. I remembered that he has written poetry over the years so I got his housekeeper to track down one in particular that he had shared with us. I printed a verse from it on rice paper which was held on to the cake with sheer ribbon. Some errors made but overall I was pleased with the results. I should have made the top tier a bit smaller so I had room to finish the bottom edge of it properly.

gallery_21184_2702_176225.jpg

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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