Pastry Shop Plans A Tercentennial Creation That Will Really Take The Cake

By Nancy K. Crevier

Tony Posca, owner of Andrea’s Pastry Shop at 2 Queen Street, usually hands out doughnuts to the children who stop by after the Labor Day Parade. But this year, he will be handing out a little something extra.

Mr Posca is in charge of designing and creating Newtown’s Tercentennial birthday cake, a 10-foot-high by four-foot-wide chocolate and vanilla delicacy frosted with his fabulous buttercream frosting. The cake, the result of six months of brainstorming by the Labor Day Committee and Mr Posca, will be served up to the public shortly after 10 am on Monday, September 5, in front of Andrea’s Pastry Shop.

“I always wanted to do something for Labor Day outside [of the bakery],” says Mr Posca, “but I never had the incentive.” His initial reaction when Kym Stehdahl, parade chairperson, approached him with the idea, was one of serious interest and excitement. Years ago, when wedding cakes vied to be the biggest and best, he had created a cake five feet high by five feet wide, but for the most part, the cakes he sells today tend to fit neatly into boxes and are carried out by customers. Baking a cake large enough to serve a town would be an intriguing test of skill.

There are challenges, of course, when planning a cake of this scale, he says. “Time is always a factor; I’m running a business on top of making the cake. If I could focus on just the cake it would make the job a lot smoother.”

Not knowing how many people are going to show up is another issue with which to contend. And of course, “Weather is a big part of that day,” states Mr Posca.

So, where does one start on a project like this? According to this seasoned baker, the design of a cake comes first, and the creating comes after. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about the design,” says Mr Posca. “It took awhile to think how I wanted to do it.”

What he does know, is that the cake, which will serve about 3,000 people, will be pushing 20 two-layer tiers by the time he is finished.

A typical 9-by-13-inch cake uses three cups of sugar and about a pound of flour. Clearly, a cake the size of the tercentennial torte requires ingredients of substantial quantities, which can quickly add up in cost. The Labor Day Parade Committee is indebted to Dr Henry Gellert, who has already donated a check of $1,000 to pay for sugar and spice and everything nice that will go into Newtown’s birthday cake.

“If you wanted to buy a cake this size,” Mr Posca says, “it would probably cost five to eight thousand dollars.”

Planning is essential. If you want to find Tony Posca the first week in September, you had better check his bakery kitchen. It will take all week to bake the cakes needed to create this humongous birthday cake. Saturday and Sunday will be devoted to assembling and frosting it, with the final touches added early Monday morning.

While Mr Posca is the creative force behind the big cake, he is quick to point out that it is not a one-man show. Not only will the eight people who work with him help bake, assemble, and frost the cake, they will assist in the serving of the cake on Labor Day and help his regular customers in the bakery. “It’s the only Monday out of the year I’m open. I couldn’t do it without them,” he says, referring to his staff.

Perched on a ladder to reach the highest tier, Labor Day morning will find Mr Posca and his staff handing out slices of Tercentennial Celebration cake on a first-come, first-served basis. “The cake will be a nice finale for parade members and viewers,” he says.

Will early cake gazers see a cake in the shape of a giant rooster? Will it be a towering facsimile of Edmond Town Hall? Or will the Meeting House in all of its frosted glory grace the parking lot on Queen Street? The design will commemorate our town’s anniversary, but beyond that, mum’s the word.

“If you want to see what it looks like, come down on Labor Day,” advises Mr Posca.