Battered to Death (Daphne Martin Cake Mysteries) by Gayle Trent Page A
Authors: Gayle Trent
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plans as I continued on to the competition area. There was certainly no love lost among Chef Richards and the two of them.
9
W HEN I got to the area where the timed decorating competition was to be held, there were four long metal tables placed about two feet apart. A place card indicated that I was at the table at the far right. I was glad. I didn’t want to feel I was the center of attention. Plus, I would be less nervous if I felt that not every other contestant in the competition was peeking to see how my cake was coming along. This way, there would be only one other contestant who would have a clear view of me. I glanced at the table to the left of mine. The place card said PAULINE WILSON .
Adjoining each metal table were smaller tables on each side that gave the decorator additional workspace. At the corner of the main tables, there were covered cake plates. Without looking, I knew the cake plates contained the two-tiered cakes we would be decorating in the competition. There were also items from our sponsors: molds for shell-shaped candies and chocolates, cookies, flavored fondant, icing, gel color, piping bags, and candies. There were chocolate and candy disks as well as a hot plate and two double boilers for melting them. Of course, we also had spatulas, cake tips, a fondant rolling pin, and some other decorating doodads.
Each contestant had also been given a sketchpad and pencil to use to rough out his or her design prior to the commencement of the decorating. However, the design was part of the timed competition, so no decorator was able to sketch out his or her design until the official had read the rules and had said we could begin.
Kimmie Compton arrived just before the competition to ensure that everyone had the requisite items and that we were all ready to start. Assured that her competitors were ready to begin, Ms. Compton made a brief announcement to the audience who’d gathered in the metal folding chairs and risers approximately five feet in front of our tables. Ms. Compton announced that we—the competitors—would have one and a half hours to complete a beach-themed cake using only the items in our individual workspaces. Then she sounded a bell for us to begin.
I quickly uncovered my cake to see what I had to work with. I had a ten-inch round and an eight-inch round, two-tiered cake. I wanted to do something different from the traditional tiered cake. I didn’t want to make a beach-themed wedding cake. I wanted to do something different . And I also had carving on the brain. This competition would be a good opportunity for me to practice my carving prior to the demonstration I’d be giving later in the day.
I stared at the cake for a moment, and then I flipped opened the sketchpad. I decided to cut the ten-inch layer to make a boat. I drew a circle and then dissected the sides to leave the long, rounded rectangular center. That would form my boat. I divided one of the sides in half to make a triangular front for the boat. I did the same thing with the eight-inch round layer, so that I could give the boat more dimension. This would make the top portion slightly shorter than the bottom, which would give me a space for the seats and windshield. The rest of the cake would form the waves and, possibly, a stretch of shoreline.
Once I’d sketched out my design, I separated the cakes and began carving. It came together even better than I’d hoped. I was only about half an hour into the competition, and I had my cakes carved and my boat well under way.
I heard muttered curses behind me and figured Pauline Wilson wasn’t enjoying the ease of seeing her design come together as quickly as mine had, but I didn’t have time to worry about her. I knew I had precious little time to finish getting my boat together and finish my cake. One never knew what could go wrong at the last minute, so wasting time thinking about the competition was not an option.
Once I’d completed the carving of my boat, I
9
W HEN I got to the area where the timed decorating competition was to be held, there were four long metal tables placed about two feet apart. A place card indicated that I was at the table at the far right. I was glad. I didn’t want to feel I was the center of attention. Plus, I would be less nervous if I felt that not every other contestant in the competition was peeking to see how my cake was coming along. This way, there would be only one other contestant who would have a clear view of me. I glanced at the table to the left of mine. The place card said PAULINE WILSON .
Adjoining each metal table were smaller tables on each side that gave the decorator additional workspace. At the corner of the main tables, there were covered cake plates. Without looking, I knew the cake plates contained the two-tiered cakes we would be decorating in the competition. There were also items from our sponsors: molds for shell-shaped candies and chocolates, cookies, flavored fondant, icing, gel color, piping bags, and candies. There were chocolate and candy disks as well as a hot plate and two double boilers for melting them. Of course, we also had spatulas, cake tips, a fondant rolling pin, and some other decorating doodads.
Each contestant had also been given a sketchpad and pencil to use to rough out his or her design prior to the commencement of the decorating. However, the design was part of the timed competition, so no decorator was able to sketch out his or her design until the official had read the rules and had said we could begin.
Kimmie Compton arrived just before the competition to ensure that everyone had the requisite items and that we were all ready to start. Assured that her competitors were ready to begin, Ms. Compton made a brief announcement to the audience who’d gathered in the metal folding chairs and risers approximately five feet in front of our tables. Ms. Compton announced that we—the competitors—would have one and a half hours to complete a beach-themed cake using only the items in our individual workspaces. Then she sounded a bell for us to begin.
I quickly uncovered my cake to see what I had to work with. I had a ten-inch round and an eight-inch round, two-tiered cake. I wanted to do something different from the traditional tiered cake. I didn’t want to make a beach-themed wedding cake. I wanted to do something different . And I also had carving on the brain. This competition would be a good opportunity for me to practice my carving prior to the demonstration I’d be giving later in the day.
I stared at the cake for a moment, and then I flipped opened the sketchpad. I decided to cut the ten-inch layer to make a boat. I drew a circle and then dissected the sides to leave the long, rounded rectangular center. That would form my boat. I divided one of the sides in half to make a triangular front for the boat. I did the same thing with the eight-inch round layer, so that I could give the boat more dimension. This would make the top portion slightly shorter than the bottom, which would give me a space for the seats and windshield. The rest of the cake would form the waves and, possibly, a stretch of shoreline.
Once I’d sketched out my design, I separated the cakes and began carving. It came together even better than I’d hoped. I was only about half an hour into the competition, and I had my cakes carved and my boat well under way.
I heard muttered curses behind me and figured Pauline Wilson wasn’t enjoying the ease of seeing her design come together as quickly as mine had, but I didn’t have time to worry about her. I knew I had precious little time to finish getting my boat together and finish my cake. One never knew what could go wrong at the last minute, so wasting time thinking about the competition was not an option.
Once I’d completed the carving of my boat, I
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