Bicentennial cake takes the cake

SANDUSKY — The multilayer cake offers several bite-size slices of information, perfect for even the hungriest Sandusky historians.Wendy Kromer-Schell, a renowned pastry chef and dessert designer, unveiled the Sandusky's Bicentennial Celebration Cake this April at the Bicentennial Ball.Wendy Kromer-Schell, of Wendy Kromer Confections, puts the finishing touches on her "display-only" Sandusky bicentennial cake right before it made its premier at April's Bicentennial Ball. Features in and on the cake take into account many prominent and notable city themes over its 200-year history.Well aware of Sandusky's bicentennial, or 200-year anniversary in 2018, several years ago, Kromer-Schell baked up the idea to make a non-edible cake, tasteful for such an occasion. A special Sandusky bicentennial "display-only" cake made by Wendy Kromer-Schell, of Wendy Kromer Confections, sits on a table at the Sandusky Library. The cake takes into account many prominent city themes over its 200-year history.She provided some history and context into her creation:Cake debut: "The Bicentennial Cake premiered at Sandusky's Bicentennial Ball, in the historic Cedar Point Ballroom, this past April. It was decided by the Bicentennial Ball Committee and myself that, due to the many weeks of labor that would go into its design and production, a 'display-only' presentation would be ideal. This option was both cost-effective and, most importantly, gave more opportunities for it to be shared with our community."A special Sandusky bicentennial "display-only" cake made by Wendy Kromer-Schell, of Wendy Kromer Confections, takes into account many prominent city themes over its 200-year history.Cake concept: "As with most of my cakes, there is much research and planning involved. To date, this was the most researched cake I have made. After volunteering my services to the committee in 2017 — partially because my aunt Eveyln Zeller made the cake for Sandusky's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary), and because Sandusky is the only place I have ever truly called home — I devoted as many books on Sandusky's history, as time allowed. Also, through the ease of social media, I reached out to Sanduskians to see what they felt was important to include in the design."Cake icons: "Those responses included the Boy with the Boot, Kilbourne Plat, our beautiful parks, the Underground Railroad, notable businesses and services organizations and our history of brewing and winemaking. With those responses, plus the many nuggets of history gleaned from reading, I set to the task of deciding what should be reflected on the cake yet still make a beautiful cake."A special Sandusky bicentennial "display-only" cake made by Wendy Kromer-Schell of Wendy Kromer Confections, takes into account many prominent city themes over its 200-year history.Cake words: "I decided to work with descriptive keywords, such as 'entrepreneur,' 'explorers,' 'educators,' 'protectors,' etc. The beauty of calligraphy, then, became the wallpaper behind these keywords. The chosen names listed, both past and current, are merely a hint of the businesses, entrepreneurs and fascinating individuals who've educated, designed, built and influenced our city, the place we are proud to call home."A special Sandusky bicentennial "display-only" cake made by Wendy Kromer-Schell, of Wendy Kromer Confections, takes into account many prominent city themes over its 200-year history.Cake features: "To reflect the importance of community, names of organizations, churches, our military and other organizations that reflect the service of Sanduskians-to-Sanduskians as well as to the world were included. The rope trim reflects our work-play relationship with, and our responsibility to, our beautiful lake. To solve the design dilemma of what should act as the moving-forward concept, I added mirrors to the top tier, along with the word innovators. We are the 'innovators' of Sandusky's future."A special Sandusky bicentennial "display-only" cake made by Wendy Kromer-Schell, of Wendy Kromer Confections, takes into account many prominent city themes over its 200-year history.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.