Jen Claudio is the biggest USC Fan I know...

As much as I love and respect the game of football, it's not much of a sport that I'm really into keeping up with. Maybe it's because my alma mater, Cal State Long Beach doesn't have a football team nor does Los Angeles......yet. My loyalties for a particular team are nonexistent, so I root for action and a good game. And boy did I get one this past weekend.

I happened to be at the Long Beach Hooters on Saturday, October 29, Halloween Weekend. There were zombies roaming the streets (and ninjas and Snookis and Wolverines), but that's a whole other blog post. I was there to watch the UFC Fight with my brother and cousin, but the bar was packed with more USC and Stanford fans. Like I said, I don't really keep up with football, but that game had our attention! Back and forth action in a TRIPLE OVERTIME GAME! In the end, Stanford prevailed. And although USC fans were upset, they couldn't help but feel excited for such a thrilling game. USC did "Fight On!"

Automatically my thoughts were on the BIGGEST USC FANATIC I could think of.

Here's a little SAT analogy for you:  

What basketball and the Lakers are to me, is what football and USC is to Jen Claudio.

That should give you an idea of how passionate she is! I honestly don't know a more hardcore USC fan than her. And that is why for her last birthday I made her a special cake to honor that. 

Sorry Jen, I had to steal this picture from you. ;)

Of course I started off with a little research and collected a few logos to help me get started. Her cake was going to be a surprise and only a handful would eat it, so I kept it pretty simple with just a touch of personalization that I knew Jen would appreciate. I decided to use a chocolate painting technique like what I did for Leilani's Luau Cake.

Of the different USC logos, I liked this the most and figured I could use the Varsity Lettering to personalize it for JEN.

I started with the Trojan's mirrored image, then flipped it once the chocolate hardened.

After "painting" the main details, I went back over the whole image with chocolate to strengthen the solid piece.

The final cake. I told you I kept it simple. (Chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache).

She made it onto ESPN! I told you she was hardcore!

Thanks Jen! Your passion and loyalty is inspiring. Two important qualities we all should live with each day. Thank you for stopping by, and have a Sweet November!

~Abs of Cakes~