The opening night of the Spirit Room was a blur for most. But if you made it out on February 17th, you more than likely saw a barrel sitting on the bar. But it wasn’t a barrel. It was a cake.
The “wooden” barrel, perched on a stand, it even had a tap promising something delightful within. And it actually poured bourbon! It greeted guests as they came in to explore the Spirit Room at the Phoenix at the opening on February 17. Most people didn’t even suspect it was a cake. It was so realistic, even some of the staff didn’t realize it was edible at first.
It weighed over 60 pounds, took over 40 hours to create, and 2 people to carry it up the stairs. And it actually poured Bourbon. The incredible barrel cake from Sugar And Magic Cake Company.
It wasn’t just cake, it was art. And, it was delicious.
The decadent chocolate cake was smothered in layers of vanilla cream buttercream, covered in a layer of chocolate ganache, and encased in marshmallow fondant. It was airbrushed with food coloring and hand-sculpted to that look like aged wood and metal. Embossed of the front of the cake was the Spirit Room logo. Cutting the cake seemed almost criminal but Samantha “Sam” Macfarlane, Master Cake Artist and owner of the Sugar and Magic Cake Company, said “ Cut it! It’s meant to be eaten!”
Sam moved to Ohio from California almost a year ago. She was ready to get out her cake pans and start creating again, the opening was the perfect reason to get started. “The straps (on the barrel) were initially all silver,” Sam said, “but I hand-painted them to tone them down. Everything was made from scratch. It was so much fun just to play with sugar again. “ Sam started Sugar and Magic in 1997 while living in Puerto Rico when her husband Jack, was stationed there for the Navy.
If you didn’t get a piece of the barrel cake, we are betting you will be seeing cakes from the Sugar and Magic Cake company popping up around the area soon. Thanks, Sam for making the opening to the Spirit Room complete.