Prantl's Bakery Creating Enormous Cake For Omni William Penn's 100th Birthday

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Omni William Penn retains the stylish grandeur of the day the hotel opened, March 9, 1916.

Prantl's Bakery and the hotel have teamed up with culinary students to create a birthday cake worthy of the occasion.

Omni Executive Chef Brian Riddle says the cake is, "About five foot in diameter, about five and a half foot tall, probably somewhere around 2,000 pounds."

Prantl's Head Baker Jeff Pastor tells KDKA what it takes to bake a one-ton cake.

He says, "366 pounds of flour, about 2,500 eggs, 28 gallons of soybean oil. We have ten 20-inch round cakes, and we're using 600 pounds of icing."

A total of 10,000 pieces of cake will be passed out free to visitors during the Wednesday celebration.

When the hotel opened 100 years ago, the room rate was $2.50. This week, randomly selected guests will be surprised by getting the same rate.

General Manager Eric DeStefano says the staff gathered mementoes of a hundred years.

"One of the favorite pieces there is an actual photo of a dinner from Charles Lindbergh," he says.

"One beauty of this hotel," he adds, "was it actually had private bathrooms."

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The bubbles used in Lawrence Welk's Champagne Music programs of the '50s and the '60s began on a long ago visit to the William Penn. A hotel engineer made that first ever bubble machine.

"It's a very complex piece of equipment," the general manager smiles. "It is a baking pan, and it is bubble wands that were put on a circular device and connected to a motor. And then we have a GE fan behind it."

And that's the icing on the cake.