bake - January 2012 - 64

Grand National Wedding Cake Competition, that time investment increases exponentially. Silverthorn, who starts brainstorming ideas about a year in advance, estimates he spent a minimum of 400 hours from June to October creating his cake. Not only does this competition require a time commitment, but you must also commit yourself to the concept you choose, especially when the work spreads over such a long period of time. “Usually I pick a theme, and about two months before the competition, I’m so tired of thinking about it that I want to change to something different.” This year, he stayed true to his original idea, and it paid off. Staying true to the inspiration piece is Silverthorn’s ﬁrst piece of advice. “You really need to start with a good concept, and then just follow through,” he says. “If the concept’s not there, it won’t matter how neat and clean it is; you’ll just have a boring cake.” Silverthorn suggests choosing an inspiration piece that has a lot And unique is Silverthorn’s next bit of advice. He suggests creating something original, something that no one has seen before. But that doesn’t mean you have to come up with a technique that’s never been used. “The general theory has been that the harder the technique, the better you’ll do,” Silverthorn says. “Strike that. It’s better to do a simple technique and do it perfectly, than to do a complicated technique and do it poorly.” The technique that Silverthorn used for his cake wasn’t anything extraordinary; what was extraordinary was the perfect execution of a simple technique that created a beautifully intricate ﬁnal piece. Competition cakes — especially those entered into competitions of Vincent’s caliber — probably seem far more extravagant than what you’re going to produce in your everyday business. But competition cakes can actually serve a higher purpose...and earn you higher proﬁts in the long run. “I compare competitions to runway fashion shows,” Silverthorn says. “The things you see on a runway aren’t necessarily practical, but they’re possible. And they lead you to more practical applications.” Silverthorn’s cake, which was created in part from thousands of pieces of fondant appliqué, could realistically be re-executed on a smaller scale for a customer order in far less time, especially with assistance from a staff (the competition requires that all work be executed exclusively by the entrant). “Once the cake is done, I can duplicate it in of detail. That way, you will have plenty to draw from, to create a totally unique cake design.
Gary Silverthorn, winner, 2011 Grand National Wedding Cake Competition

“The things you see on a runway aren’t necessarily practical, but they’re possible. And they lead you to more practical applications.”

64 < JAN 2012 | bakemag.com

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bake - January 2012

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