Ants a hilarious story about a wedding cake
by Ann Maree Cooke copyright © Ann Maree Cooke, 2000, All rights reserved
Today I’ll tell you a funny story. It is not about ants in pants but about ants and wedding cakes.
I love to make cakes for special occassions, and have developed a reputation for making some fairly odd ones. I once made a Chocolate funnel web spider cake, which was mud cake, iced with a yummy chocolate fudge frosting, and made a spider on the top out of licorice as a stir as most of my family are terrified of spiders.Little did I know that insects would get back at me later on.
When Marcus and I decided on the wedding date for us, we were on a limited budget, and one thing I was confident about doing was decorating my own wedding cake. As I adore apricot and yellow roses, I got a book and learnt to make icing roses. Weeks were spent loving manufacturing my favorite flowers to decorate the cake and then tinting them to look realistic. By the end of three weeks I had a collection of rose petals and leaves and the most enticing icing roses.
To those I added ribbons in gold and a few little plaster doves. My step daughter Sara bought me a bride and groom ornament in tones of apricot. The cake took the best part of a day to assemble, but the results were beautiful and just what I wanted.
Marcus was so excited with the lovely two tier cake that he wanted photos. “You have worked so hard and we want to always remember the wonderful cake you made”
The next day Marcus was setting up the dining table in preparation for the photo shoot. He draped a fine crochet linen table cloth over our small dining table and added a back drop “To set off the design” he said. Soon the set was ready, and gingerly we took the cake and arranged it ready for the pictures.
Everyone was excited.Marcus all but said “make love to the camera, baby” when he took photos of the cake from all angles. I doubt that Naomi Cambell was treated so respectfully when she was photographed.
It was then that Marcus decided he wanted some close ups of the cake and moved in to find the best angles. I was making coffee when I heard a horrified scream from Marcus”Oh My GOD”. All I could think of, was that he had dropped the camera into the cake, and I ran into the dining room.
The look on Marcus’s face was a study in horror. The cake looked fine, but Marcus kept muttering”The cake ” and stuttering like he does when really upset. I looked, and saw nothing!
He said “Look closer” and as I did I saw what all the drama was. There were ants, marching two by two out of the lower tier.
It was fascinating for a minute to see the wonder of the animal kingdom. Tthen it hit me. “Arggghhh,my cake ” I screamed. The kids started crying ,Marcus kept saying”All your lovely work, darling” over and over.
Someone had to take charge of the situation., so I walked over to the kitchen cupboard and got the fly spray.
After the ants had been eradicated, we inspected the damage. The icing flowers and decorations had survived, but the cake was hollow. The ants had really enjoyed our wedding cake.
After a frantic dash down to the bakery. I got two round cakes. Marcus had his buck’s party to go to, so me, Sara and my girlfriend, redid another cake. It took 10 minutes to cover the cakes with royal icing and I add all the pre-made roses and ornaments, and it was done.
The wedding cake was a hit on our wedding day, and everyone enjoyed it.
I did too, but later that night, I saw the original cake peaking out the top of the trash bin. Maybe it was the champagne, but I am sure I saw the ants waving.
Permission for publication on A-Wedding Day, given by Ann Maree Cooke May 2000,
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