Ashley Vicos, cake decorator and owner of Sweet Ashley’s cake studio, Atlanta, teamed with Dawn Food Products to design a cake for the Fort Stewart, Ga., Battalion’s annual Christmas Ball this holiday season.
Soldiers at the Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery in Fort Stewart submitted a video appeal for Vicos to design the cake. She selected a team consisting of Karen Murdock Hughes, Debbie Barronton, Sabrina Ricks Campbell and Fort Stewart’s pastry chef, SPC Christopher Pope to help her create the cake. She also enlisted Dawn Food Products to help cover the expenses for supplies and ingredients including cake mix, fondant and butter cream icing.
The team spent more than 100 hours decorating the final cake (pictured), which was more than 4 feet tall and weighed over 600 pounds. The vanilla cake with chocolate fudge featured a sculpted tank along with a Christmas tree decorated with LED lights and a sugar snowman dressed in army blues that sang and moved its arms and legs.
“We were thrilled to be a part of this very special cake creation for the Fort Stewart Battalion,” Becky Loveland, director of bakery distribution marketing for Dawn, said in a press release. “We have great respect and admiration for all those that serve our country and are proud to help honor their dedication and service.”