BRYAN, Texas – The owner of a local bakery is getting some attention online for a cake she made for a University of Alabama couple.
Steffany Bowling, owner of Peace, Love and Cakes in Bryan, is not much of a sports fan but she knew her latest creation might raise some eyebrows in Aggieland, which is home to Texas A&M University.
"I told several people, ‘don't get mad at me but I have to do an Alabama cake,’” said Bowling while laughing.
A Crimson Tide bride reached out to Bowling, who works out of her home kitchen, in October 2016; the bride had attended an Aggie wedding, that featured a cake replica of Kyle Field made by Bowling, and wanted a cake of Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
“They put that order in [during] the last football season…the day after Alabama defeated us,” said Bowling.
Alabama defeated Texas A&M 44-13. It was a tough loss for Aggie fans. However, Bowling was up for the cake challenge.
“I love my Aggies—I do—but I love school spirit in general,” said Bowling.
The stadium cake took months of research and preparation. Bowling said pulling off the massive feat was challenging.
“It took up this entire island right here,” said Bowling, pointing to the island in her kitchen. It was about 31 inches wide, 35 inches long and about 8 inches tall."
It took 10 sheet cakes, several pounds of buttercream, countless fondant pieces and roughly 56 hours of labor to complete the 75-pound cake.
"It's not [being] gigantic or crazy tall, instead it's important that it looks extremely proportional,” said Bowling.
Bowling drove the cake to the couple’s wedding venue in Montgomery, Texas. The cake, which was also equipped with light, cost $2,500. Bowling, a married mom of three, said the look on the bride’s face was rewarding.
“To see Taylor [the bride]--her reaction when she walked in and saw the cake--I mean she loves Alabama the way all of us Aggies love Aggieland. So to see her face, that was priceless.”
This is the third stadium cake Bowling has made. Her past creations include two replicas of Kyle Field and, most recently, the Bryant-Denny Stadium. She is interested in possibly taking on bigger projects.
"I'd like to do other stadiums now that I've tackled these,” said Bowling. “I get excited looking at the Houston Texans stadium, Astros stadium, the Texas Rangers stadium...of course I'm talking Texas because I'm a Texas girl."