Eyes on the Pupils: seniors Kelly McMeekin and Zach Garcia

Birthdays are not really birthdays without family, friends, presents and, of course, cake. But seniors Kelly McMeekin and Zach Garcia think outside the box of cake mix. Instead, they prefer to build cakes resembling calculators, dinosaurs and even Piet Mondrian’s masterpieces.

Kelly began baking as a way to satisfy her personal cravings for sweets but gradually moved onto cakes for friends’ birthdays and other special occasions.

Zach has been interested in baking since elementary school when he was the only one who brought homemade cupcakes to class for his birthday. Zach has made cakes in the past for special events such as Jamnesty, an event organized by Club Amnesty International. One of his cakes even earned $80 toward a school in Haiti.

Before the two masters of cakes joined forces, they were quite competitive with each other.

“We would always blab to each other about who was better at making cakes, even though neither of us had seen the other’s cakes before,” Kelly said.

The competition got really heated when they decided to see who could make the better cake for their friend’s birthday. Kelly decided to make a cake following painter Piet Mondrian’s style, and Zach made a dolphin cake. Although they both agreed that Kelly won the competition, the two of them realized that they both enjoyed making decorative cakes. Eventually, Zach and Kelly joined baking efforts and made a Wall-E cake for a friend.

Zach and Kelly also bake together every Sunday night for fun and even took a cake decorating class at Michael’s.

“We took the class because a lot of our techniques were improvised so we wanted to learn the real way,” Zach said.

They also researched techniques online and learned some tips from TV shows such as “Ace of Cakes” on Food Network.

As they got used to baking together, both of them realized that their techniques work well with each other.

“Kelly is good at baking and I am good at decorating, so we make a good pair in that sense,” Zach said.

They also know there are a lot of things that can go wrong during the baking process.

“Making cakes is hell in its own way at times,” Kelly said. “When you’re baking for other people, it’s a bit stressful.”

Both Kelly and Zach agree that one of the hardest ingredients to deal with for cakes is fondant, which is commonly used for coating cakes.

“Fondant is horrible because it tears or it’s too dry or you can’t color it right, so we decided we want to make our own version of it because we hate it so much,” Zach said.

When Kelly and Zach give their cakes to friends, they like seeing the immediate reaction from people— and only the immediate reaction.

“We run away as fast as possible after we give them the cakes because after a few seconds, people start to criticize how the fondant is falling off and stuff like that,” Kelly said.

The pair continues to enjoy baking and has turned their hobby into a business. People can order cakes, and Zach and Kelly charge them according to how costly the ingredients are. They once made a cake for an event that had to feed over 50 people.

“Zach and I really work well together when we bake,” Kelly said. They plan to continue baking together and hope to expand their cake business. “We love baking because it’s therapeutic in the sense that it relieves our stress,” Zach said.