In just a few weeks, the United States will mark its 250th birthday, with celebrations all across the country. But when cake artist Grace Pak started looking into it a few months ago, she realized the festivities were missing something crucial: a birthday cake! Now, she’s been tasked with making it. It’ll take a month to complete and include contributions from dozens of members of Congress. The final cake is supposed to be the size of a car. So how do you make such an ambitious confection? Grace tells Dan all about the process, then lets him try a sample. After that, Dan travels to our nation’s capital to see Rep. Tom Suozzi put his own decorative flair on the cake. Plus, we go behind the scenes on two collaborations for the Great Nosh summer picnic: a Jewish taco and an Indian bagel.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell.

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