Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Danilo Reynoso | 180807-N-VO895-0006 (Aug. 7, 2018) NORFOLK, Va - Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class...... read more read more
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Cakes are decorative treats, sweet and neat and oh-so pleasant to eat. They come in all shape sizes, intricately designed and topped with fruits or candy and covered in a variety of colorful frostings, leaving your mouth watering, tongue in a drool of salivations. They are just-because gifts, given on dates of anniversaries, presented at milestones or as a parting offerings during morning sorrows. Whatever the occasion, we all could agree, cakes are our guilty pleasures, but we love them dearly.
For amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class Ashley Hancock baking her passion.
Hancock’s inspiration for baking decorative cakes started rather unorthodoxly. Like most traditional family gatherings and celebrations where highlighted with cake, it was Hancock’s grandfather that started her interest in baking. He would bake the family’s cakes while adding a unique theme. As a joke he would attempt to make them look as unappealing as possible, while still maintaining great flavor.
This on-going prank lasted for years, until Hancock’s 16th birthday when she begged her grandfather to bake a pretty cake.
Her grandfather agreed to break away from his tradition and bake his granddaughter a pretty cake. However, Hancock and her family could not have anticipated what her grandfather’s mischievousness had in store for them.
As her friends and family gathered at Handcock’s party to sing the celebratory birthday song, Hancock waited to see what her grandfather had crafted.
“When my grandma asked about the cake, Grandpa says ‘don’t worry I made a beautiful cake, it’s in the bedroom,” explained Handcock. “I never heard my grandma cuss before; she said ‘I told you not to put it in the bedroom. The cats got into it and they defecated all over it!”
The cake was beautifully crafted like Handcock requested, however the homemade cake was decorated with fake cat excretions, which left Handcock livid. “This was the last straw, so I decided to learn how to bake my own cakes.”
Handcock’s first attempt at baking a cake was a success. She made a multi-flavored three-tier cake that tasted great. “I cared more about the flavor than the look of it,” said Hancock. “It was slightly lopsided, but it tasted great.”
Handcock continued to bake cakes on various occasions, but when word got around, and her friends caught wind of how delicious her cakes were, friends started making requests. That’s what propelled Hancock to take her confection talents to the next level, and began working with fondant [edible icing used in sculpting cakes] and experimenting with different techniques to making the cakes as visually appealing as possible.
“I taught myself how to do fondant and eventually I started getting better by going on the internet to learn new tips and tricks,” said Hancock. “ I spend at least five to six hours alone on just decorating a cake.”
As Handcock’s abilities and talent grew, the more confident she became and with each cake she created she felt the urge to put her gift to the test by entering the 2018 Surface Line Week’s WWI theme cake decorating competition.
“When researching about World War I, copies of vintage posters kept popping up,” said Hancock. “That’s why we [cake decorating partner, Ensign Ryanne Cannon] decided to put war posters as a design on the middle layer of the cake. We also chose to have the Dixie cup be the bottom layer and for the top layer, the service dress blues of that era with the phrase ‘From Then to Now’ written on the cake.”
As the judges walked from table to table inspecting the cakes and tasting each one, the tension in the room got thicker and thicker. Hancock couldn’t believe it when she heard her team announced as the third place winner in the Navy-wide competition.
Hancock takes great pride in being able to create something other people enjoy so much. This selfless attitude of wanting others to be happy shows not only through her cake baking, but also the way she carries herself throughout the ship, never seen without a positive attitude.
As an Air Traffic Controller, Hancock is responsible for launching and recovering aircraft aboard the ship. She enjoys the stress and intensity of her job along with the focus and dedication it takes to safely direct aircraft.
“Baking cakes is not as stressful as my job, but the attention to detail, time and focus it takes to bake and craft a cake is the same,” explained Hancock. “With every cake I’m learning something new and progressing from there.”
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2018 15:44 |
| Story ID: | 289308 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 170 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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