for a boy's first holy communion. he saw a photo of a bible cake from here on cc with a chalice on top -- really lovely, which i of course could not possibly recreate (because it's beyond my powers :) ). i followed tips on how to make a book cake without the book pan from researching on the forums. the only thing i didn't figure out in advance was how the cake was going to be too thick since i used a small cake pan. but the kid loved it nevertheless and hugged me while thanking me for it! totally made getting cross-eyed while painting the page "lines" along the sides worth it! :)