Making a Cake for America's 250th Birthday

A New York City cake artist, Grace Pak, has begun a complex project to create America’s 250th birthday cake, answering an initial question from the congressional commission planning the celebration. In January, Pak learned that no cake was planned and set out to build a sculpted centerpiece the size of a Mini Cooper, decorated with flying chocolate Black Hawk helicopters, an eagle on a branch, and Lady Liberty’s arm made from Rice Krispies Treats and green fondant. If hurdles are cleared, the cake will be cut at a ceremony on Saturday at the Library of Congress. The work has been complicated by politics: the America250 commission, authorized by Congress in 2016, was sidelined last year by Freedom 250, a separate group tied to President Trump. Pak said she lacked meaningful funding and needed buy-in from officials across parties, while the history of birthday cakes spans earlier Independence and centennial recipes.