Baker Asked To Come Up With Second Mackinac Bridge Cake
McLennan Preparing for Nov. 1 Ceremony
By Karen Gould

Glory McLennan of St. Ignace traces the Mackinac Bridge 50th anniversary token design onto a piece of glass using Royal frosting. The process is the first step in making the confection, which will sit on top of the cake she is making for the November 1 celebration.

Glory McLennan meticulously traces an image of the Mackinac Bridge on a thin piece of glass slightly smaller than a sheet of notebook paper. Standing over a marble countertop, she draws the image using white Royal icing. She does not consider herself an artist.

Mrs. McLennan, owner of Tas T Creations in St. Ignace, won the cake contest celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bridge in July. That sheet cake design portrayed the role of the bridge in uniting Michigan's two peninsulas, and was topped with elements common to the state, including freighters, trees, lighthouses, and a teepee. The lemon cake receipt she used was her grandmother's.

Now, the Mackinac Bridge Authority has asked her to share her talents again and create a cake for the November 1 ceremonies marking the day the bridge first opened to traffic in 1957.

Coming up with ideas for the cake was easy, she said. Sketching those ideas, however, proves to be more challenging.

"I'm so bad at drawing," said Mrs. McLennan, who comes from a family of artists. Her father was an architect and her brother is an artist, as was her grandfather. Her grandfather is known for creating the original rendering of the New Jersey legendary creature, the Jersey Devil.

When she was asked to provide cake for the November celebration, she was flooded with ideas for the cake's design. She focused on the 50th anniversary bridge token, which will top the cake.

Agold confection replica of the token, she said, will stand atop a white, three-tiered cake decorated with gold and white roses. She again will use her grandmother's lemon cake recipe and white fondant will cover the cake.

"I did 'fun' for the cake contest. I wanted to do something beautiful that definitely had the 50th theme," she said. "I want to do something elegant, something really nice."

With a steady hand, she begins the process of creating a mold for the coin. Using a parchment bag containing meringue, powdered sugar, and water, she traces the bridge onto a piece of glass in a process called piping. Under the glass is a paper enlargement of the anniversary coin. She uses an artist's brush to smooth her work. She will continue tracing all of the raised design of the coin.

Once completed, she will roll out sugar paste in the shape of a circle and press the glass with its piping into the paste to make a mold. After it dries, she will use the mold to make the raised fondant replica of the token. The replica will be air brushed with gold food coloring before she places it on the cake's top tier.

"I like the creativity," she said, "and I enjoy what I do."

The cake will serve 100 people.

She also is making three sheet cakes to serve those who attend the November 1 event and to accommodate different tastes. The sheet cakes include a spice cake with cream cheese frosting, a yellow and chocolate fudge marble cake with white butter cream frosting, and a chocolate fudge cake topped with chocolate butter cream frosting. Each cake will serve 100 people.

Since winning the July cake contest, Mrs. McLennan said her cake business has gotten busier, with many wedding cake bookings added for next year. The contest was judged by renowned cake makers Kevin Pavlina and James Aslanian from Pavlina Cakes in Fenton.

As a young girl, Mrs. McLennan began baking by helping her grandmother. After moving to St. Ignace in 1999, she worked at Justrite Bakery before taking classes in cake making. Mrs. McLennan's husband, Ned, who has been a steeplejack at the bridge since 1997, is proud of her baking accomplishments, she said. The couple has two children.

"To be a part of the bridge celebration is really neat. The bridge is a huge part of Michigan's history," said the New Jersey native. "I'm starting to feel like Michigan is my home."

November 1 celebration events will begin at 12:30 p.m. at Bridge View Park in St. Ignace. The public is welcome.