"Box"ing Contest

They say that a little competition is healthy and a great way to ensure that our ideas (and lives no doubt) do not stagnate...I couldn’t agree less! Seriously, how would feelings of inadequacy, general failure and overwhelming stress be healthy? I am so terrible at rivalry that if challenged on someone else’s terms I would simply have to move out of the area, maybe even leave the country! After all, it was not too many years ago that a simple competition to win the heart, affections and possibly a peek at the ankle of a certain young lady could quickly descend to a gloved slap across the cheek, pistols at dawn and almost certainly a few holes in the losers billowing shirt (possibly even the looser himself)! This, as I'm sure you can appreciate, is hardly for me; can you imagine me being awake before 8.30 much less stood on a misty field with a pistol in my hand at dawn!
Thankfully, these days the closest many of us come to serious duelling is "Regionals" but we all know that New Directions will eventually win over Vocal Adrenaline so it’s hardly worth getting upset over.

I say "many of us" but I myself have recently been embroiled in a bitter 'fight to the death' style tussle and it’s all Peggy Porschens fault!
The second my (still, thankfully) very good friend and I spotted Peggy’s glorious Tiffany Style boxes (yes, hence the title....) in her equally glorious "Romantic Cakes" book, we were hooked! Falling completely head over heels for these sugarpaste cubes brought out the ruthless competitive streak in both of us. The game was well and truly on, the first to complete the frankly Krypton Factor-esque task would be the winner of untold riches and unending praise. So with the required Christmas Green, Baby Blue and heads full of ideas we rushed to our respective test kitchens full of fire and just a touch of cocky swagger, in the hope of emerging victorious.

Our weekly conversations were Tiffany focussed for many, many - oh dear many weeks. Both half-heartedly starting and giving up on a never-ending cycle. My friend came very close...but much like the real Tiffany, our ideas of sugary blue boxes ran straight into the path of a car driven by Frank Butcher - never to be spoken of again...

However, January brought an exciting phone call and a request for a beautiful birthday cake. We bounced ideas back and forth and decided that a stack of gifts would be perfect for the young lady in question. Immediately I saw my chance! What else would be more fitting to top off this cake...of course, it’s the Tiffany box! So I dusted off my "Musicality" by Martine McCutcheon cd, cranked up the volume and got to work with the now if not famous, certainly the most talked about colours in the Cake World; Baby Blue and Christmas Green.

Now as I said earlier, I am not one for competition - it can bring out the worst in people (imagine how many couples divorce after losing at "just one more lap" on Mario Cart - it’s probably thousands or at the very least, one) and I would never gloat over a victory so allow me to simply (and with minimum fuss) present you with the finished cake....

But maybe you would be kind enough to allow a little whisper.... I won ;o)

And now it’s onto the next...........I’m afraid my dears there can be no rest for the decadently wicked winner......