OH WOW-what a sight to see! Think if you will, about 75 outstanding young men and women with their dates-all decked out in Marine Corps dress blues and gorgeous ball gowns. Belmont University’s beautiful Neely Dining Hall provided the backdrop for this event and Sydexho catering staff provided a wonderful meal. We’ll give a few kudos to Robert Parker who kept the cadets on their feet the entire night with his music and Ron Greene who took traditional poses against the backdrop of a gorgeous staircase.
I absolutely LOVE the Marine Corps Birthday Ball and look forward to making the cake year after year. I cannot resist doing something different and a sheetcake to feed 150 just doesn’t cut it in my creative mind. These fine, outstanding young cadets deserve something more exciting and fun. This year I chose to do a replica of the dress corps blues complete with gold buttons and cover.
We used traditional flavors of double chocolate and vanilla, with the top tier being a marble of the two. The cover was made of rice krispie treats and the entire cake was covered with homemade fondant. Unfortunately one of my gloves ripped while I was coloring dark navy fondant and my hands were a purplish blue hue for a week. Such is life.
The Marine Corps make a HUGE deal out of the cake cutting ceremony. The cake is carried or wheeled in front of the entire group of attendees where the first pieces are cut with a sword and given to the Guest of Honor, the oldest cadet, and the youngest cadet. They declare it fit to eat (Thanks Nick…whew!!) and it is then cut for the crowd. I think every decorator should have their cake sliced with a drawn sword just once. It’s the absolute coolest experience ever!
It will be difficult to come up with a great design for next year but you can bet if given half the chance I will be there once again for this amazing event.
