Cowboy!

Now here's something we've never done before! All of you avid cakey followers will soon find, that this is "Graduation Cake Year" over here at Gateaux. Typically, we're too booked up with weddings to do Graduation cakes, but with the all-depressing "E" as in "conomy" word banging on lots of bride's and groom's doors, we've had a more open schedule this spring. Making lemon-cake from economic lemonade, we got to meet Derek!

Yep, a real cowboy! No kidding! He just graduated from high school, and they wanted to celebrate with a great-big party, and (where we come in) a great-big cake!

Seeing as he lives on a functioning family farm, complete with cows, pigs, tractors and the such, we were asked to make a John Deere-themed cake. Once we met Derek and family, we discovered that he's really, in my opinion, more Cowboy than simply farmer. This kid can rope (although he claims his little sister is better than him) ride, and run a farm. He has the PBR belt buckle to prove it!

Quick note for those city-types like myself...PBR does not, to my surprise, stand for "Pabst Blue Ribbon". It apparently stands for Professional Bull Riders. I'm always learning something on the job here!

So, if our grad gets to wear a belt buckle and cowboy hat, then his cake should get to wear one too! We carved the top tier hat, and molded a gum paste brim, all edible(did you even have to ask?) and the best part...a frosting replica of that awesome, wish I had one for myself, belt buckle! All supported on a John Deere crate cake and our first ever tractor tire cake!

A quick trip to Seaforth, MN, population 47. And we were good to go! And here's a picture of Jenna with our Grad...

Congratulations Derek and family... a nicer cowboy, you'll soon not find!