Taste, Not Appearance, Matters Most

Everywhere you look these days, it seems that cake decorating is all the rage -- from the Food Network's Ace of Cakes show to the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show. Hell, there's even a magazine devoted to cake decorating.

The cakes in these competitions look quite lavish and glittery. But I've always been skeptical of cakes in which appearance is the focal point. Maybe it's because I've tasted my share of "pretty" cakes from weddings and other events that simply couldn't stand up to a basic Duncan Hines box cake.

The frosting on these decorator cakes tends to be made (at least it tastes like it) with Crisco instead of butter. And I prefer the taste of frosting that's made with real butter.

To be fair, there are at least some cake decorators who understand what matters most: taste. Phyllis Lester, who owns a cake-decorating business, puts it this way:

A cake isn’t memorable unless it tastes fabulous.

Here, here.