A few weeks ago The Captain turned 40. As mentioned in my previous post, the unlucky timing of his birthday meant I was not in the best of health for partying.
To mark the occasion we had a private dinner at a local restaurant with some of his close family and friends. The Captain had initially wanted to have the event privately catered at our home but we decided that it would be easier to go out. Because of the complications from my recent surgery I was still unable to open my mouth wide enough to eat properly or talk so I honestly lacked enthusiasm for the event.
The next morning I phoned JB at Pretty Special Cakes. Rather than tell her what I wanted I began to tell her what I didn’t want. I hate cakes that don’t look proportional – either too skinny or too short, and that I didn’t want anything pretty or girly – this cake is for a 40 year old man, also no cheesy pictures or jokes. I’m sure by now you can understand why anyone would hate me as a client!! Being a perfectionist I am often terrible at deciding what I want, but I can easily list everything that I DON’T want! JB (the owner) quizzed me on the event and birthday boy. What is the dress code, the décor of the room, colour scheme, the personality of The Captain, his interests, things he likes to eat.
I knew from our short conversation I was talking to someone who had creative flair and would produce something that would actually look good. With that in mind I ordered and hoped for the best knowing she had little time to get to work.
On the morning of the big day I went and collected the cake. As mentioned in my previous post I am very much hungry all the time. Sending me to collect a cake when I am constantly hungry is probably not the best idea. When I saw the cake I was so shocked at how amazing it was. No picture can really do it justice. Lucky for the cake it looked too good to eat, so it would survive the short journey to the venue without me smooshing my whole face in it as soon as I got it to the car.
The cake was the most stylish and elegant thing I had seen. No sign of fake cream, sugary icing or those outdated decorating styles that were probably fashionable 10 years ago. The cake was dark chocolate with ganache and buttercream and so elegantly decorated. The chocolate was COPPER! Copper is very fashionable at the moment and went perfectly with the décor and theme for the event. And all completely edible -I didn’t even know you could do that!! JB also hand moulded The Captains name in chocolate and placed it on top. It tasted delicious and I will admit to eating it at breakfast the following morning, one tiny spoonful at a time!!
Pretty special Cakes is new to Ballarat as JB recently moved here. You can check out her cakes here and here.
The night turned out lovely, even though I was completely anxious about the whole thing. I managed to keep enough distance from guests that they did not notice my stinky breath. I also spent a good half hour highlighting and contouring my face with make up to camouflage my swollen jaw. Roo survived his evening with the babysitter – a real one (organised by my sister), as all our usual sitters were at the event. I even managed to borrow a decent dress from my sister for the occasion too. Although I attempted to order the softest food on the menu I managed to make all the wrong choices. Eating took twice as long as usual as I finely slice my food into the tiniest of mouthfuls, however I managed to note make to much of a mess! Despite feeling flat for most of the week I ended up having a great night and lots of fun.
Hope you enjoy the pics. XX
You look beautiful Goldfields Girl. No one would know you're starving and in pain. Fab frock. Happy Birthday to Nathan.
Cheers, Shelley @ Keebles
Seriously… what a cake… I hope there was more than two to eat it 🙂
Thanks Shelley!
Sure was Bruce! Although I am sure Nathan would have liked to not have to share it!