I had to take rushed pics with horrible harsh shadows, so unfortunately my pics are very poor & I apologize. I was so proud of this one! My first book cake, & first time creating leather from fondant. I particularly enjoyed embossing the bottom book, inspired by a gorgeous antique book from the 1800’s that I saw online.

This gentleman had done & accomplished so much over his life, & he had always thought of his life in chapters, even naming his boats after chapters & books. His current cruiser is named Odyssey, & I felt a book theme would bring all of his diverse characteristics together in one cohesive whole. So we separated each aspect of his life into a book, with the overall theme being the Odyssey of his life.

I got the best compliment though, when the birthday boy’s friend came to pick up the cake. He had no idea what the cake would look like, so I just kept quiet. He walked right past it & asked where the cake was. When I pointed to it, he flipped out. He said he thought I just had a stack of books on my kitchen table! YES! Mission Accomplished! :-)

‘Odyssey of Larry’ is Lemon Pound with lemon curd buttercream. ‘Computer Genius’ is Red Velvet with White Chocolate buttercream. ‘Army Strong’ is Australian Chocolate Mud with Crunchy Peanut Butter buttercream. ‘Farm 4H & Football’ is Sour Cream Pound with Vanilla buttercream. All cakes with either white or dark chocolate ganache. Board is hand-painted fondant.