Kate Middleton Takes Cake

Kate Middleton and baby take the cake at Houston Bridal Extravaganza

She stands around 5-feet, 6-inches tall, weighs in at several hundred pounds and is the sweetest duchess this side of the Atlantic. That would be the life-sized cake created in the image of the Kate Middleton holding her royal bundle of joy, a confection that is drawing crowds at the Houston Bridal Extravaganza Show.

Cake decorator extraordinaire Nadine Moon and her Who Made the Cake team worked all week to create the special cake that has its own showcase space among the 400 purveyors participating in the event at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

We're thrilled to be a part of the royal baby watch."

While Moon can't say exactly how many eggs and how much flower and sugar went into the design, she does reveal that the cake is made up of layers and layers of butter cake "for sculpting" and Rice Krispie Treats "for the areas that defy gravity." Moon allows that the Rice Krispies were employed in the Duchess of Cambridge's hair and in the baby's form. Barrels of royal icing and fondant helped create the royal look of the flowing gown.

The cake is held together with wooden dowels and cake supports and was constructed basically in two pieces — the skirt and the waist-up image.

Moon tells CultureMap that the duchess has inspired brides worldwide since her marriage to Prince William in 2011 and it seemed fitting to feature the mom-to-be as the delectable showpiece of the Bridal Extravaganza. Kate's lacy wedding gown was the basis for the gown on the cake.

Show producer Laurette Veres explains, "There are a lot of creative exhibitors in our shows so the bar is always being raised. But we have never done something on such a grand scale as this. We're thrilled to be a part of the royal baby watch."

The offer to send the cake to London as a baby gift has gone to Kensington Palace. "We sent a cake to the Turks & Caicos last winter and it worked," Moon said, "So we know we can get this to London." Just as the world is waiting for the royal birth, the Moons are waiting for the palace reply.

And, yes, word of the cake has already reached London where the Daily Mail proclaimed in its headline "Let Them Eat Kate!"

The cake will be on display throughout the Bridal Extravaganza, which continues Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15.

Also see the KHOU Channel 11 report:

Who Made the Cake owner Nadine Mon puts finishing touches on the 5'6" tall cake.

Photo by Shelby Hodge

Who Made the Cake owner Nadine Mon puts finishing touches on the 5'6" tall cake.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”