By Baroness Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina (Chris Adler-France).

After a long, happy, sweaty day of friendly fighting and fencing at Ædult Swim on February 18, approximately 200 SCAdians left the Milton Shoe Factory site to enjoy a meal at the nearby historic Hotel Edison in Sunbury.

Although some may have preregistered for the meal due to the lure of prime rib and post-revel camaraderie, a highlight of the evening was not on the menu nor at the bar.

It was a cake. A truly impressive cake.

It was a massive 60-inch-long, 31-inch-wide, 31-inch-tall castle of chocolate, yellow, red velvet, and strawberry cake that induced many of the attendees to gawk and snap photos before diving into their respective slices with relish. Hand-painted sugar banners representing all 20 kingdoms decorated its sides.

As a special request by His Highness Timothy of Arindale to celebrate the second Ædult Swim, THL Alianora Bronhulle and Baron Ichijo Honen created the cake. It was their largest project yet for their six-month-old bakery in Winchester, VA, Edible Elegance by Erin.

“I, personally, have been making cakes like this for almost 15 years… I will say that this is the largest and most intricate cake I’ve ever done,” Her Ladyship shared after the meal.

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The cake was comprised of 32 layers, she said, weighed over 250 pounds, served 350 slices, and contained:

• 16 dozen eggs
• 30 pounds of sugar
• 60 pounds of powdered sugar
• 14 pounds of butter
• 20 pounds of shortening
• 2 pounds of cocoa powder
• 25 pounds of flour
• 2 pounds of gelatin

How long did the cake take to bake? Fourteen hours.

The walls and towers, all of pastillage, required 10 days of drying.

Her Ladyship and His Excellency spent a whole day creating the banners, plus three more days to draw, paint the kingdom arms on them, and dry them.

Plus, driving the cake from their bakery to the hotel restaurant? Three hours.

“We love a challenge, so we would consider doing SCA-oriented desserts for any occasion. HRH Timothy asked us to do this one, suggested a castle as the starting point, and turned us loose with full creative license. He had no idea what he was getting until he walked in at the dinner.”

Her Ladyship thanked her baking crew: Sarah Piecknick, Vikki Farra, Jessica Walker and Brett Bernard. “Without them, this cake would not have been possible!”

For the past half year, the fledgling business has been selling baked goods at the local farmers markets while their bakery shop is still under construction. (A GoFundMe campaign to support the bakery is here.)