Students from Lacombe Composite High School's Cake Decorating 25 class are showcasing their remarkable skills via newly completed projects on display at the campus.
A cake created by Katheryn Clark, Miji Mahmood, Savanna Kettle, and Jessica Nicolas has all kinds of elements representing the natural world, spanning the jungle, the Boreal forest, the ice tundra, and the ocean.
Clark said the project went smoothly and was fun, although working with fondant can be tricky.
"It's stressful. It doesn't like staying together, and it's unstable. The hardest part is trying to have everything stay together, and then it hardens after a while," said Clark, adding that the meticulously-designed project took in the neighbourhood of 40 classes to complete.
For Clark, baking is something she has loved to do for many years.
"I like the math in it. This is how you have to do it, or it won't work out - but if you do it properly, it will always work out," she explained. "I like the structure of it."
Sydney Wilzer and Keira Perry created the other cake, reflecting a Western theme complete with a chocolate cowboy hat on the top.
As much as the two love to bake, Perry noted that some aspects of the process can be a little bit tedious and repetitive, such as creating the little fences.
"You have to do each piece individually," she said of the elements in particular. "So that takes a while."
As mentioned, both students enjoy baking and the intricate art of cake decorating.
"Eating is the best part for sure," said Wilzer with a laugh. "There is also that sense of accomplishment. You can say, I made that!"
Perry agreed. "I like the creative aspect. Decorating has always been my favourite part," she said.
"I like to be able to make something, and be proud of it."
Their teacher, Kandice Adamson, is certainly proud of their accomplishments.
"They've been working on (the cakes) for quite some time," she said. "I'm very impressed. They have put a lot of work into this project. It was all of their ideas, and they were also independent in working on the details as well.
"We also have our chef, David Irwin, who is our expert," she said.
"If they had questions about anything that was more skill-related, he knew all about it," she said, pointing as an example to the waterfall on one of the cakes which is made from pulled sugar.
"There is lots of hand-painting and the use of different tools to create the textures," she said.
The students are in the school's Cake Decorating 25 class - their is an introductory level class as well.
"This is the intermediate level," she said. "And now moving foward, they are making individual cakes that are still on their themes, but they have to include different components."
Adamson said that she's been teaching foods for her entire teaching career.
"I love how the kids get to be creative," she said, adding that various skills are developed as well such as learning to collaborate and work effectively in groups.
"I also like that they get to learn useful skills that can use every day. They get to make fun things, and to be creative through it - it's also a lot of hands-on learning."
