Sheila Taylor, co-owner of the Side Street Diner in The Village, giggles when she's asked how she gets the sides of her cake creations so smooth.

"Experience, I guess," she said. "I have a turntable and I just smooth it as I spin and spin and spin it. Actually, maybe it's the icing."

Her frosting recipe, which contains powdered sugar, shortening, margarine, vanilla and powerdered non-dairy creamer, is a winner, to be sure. But it's more than how smooth the sides of her cakes are and much more than the typical ingredients she uses to whip up batch after batch of frosting.

The Barbie cake is a perfect example. Just taking a whiff of it brings back memories from childhood of a flavor, a scent. What is it?

"It's strawberry extract," Sheila divulged. "I add strawberry extract and pink food coloring."

As it turns out, you can add just about any flavor to frosting to create a cake that is different than all the rest. Taylor goes to Miles Cake, Candy and Bakers Supplies on Gratiot just north of Metro Parkway. "It's a wonderful shop; you can get anything for cakes there."

You can also load up on a multitude of extracts such as raspberry, lemon, coffee, coconut and even banana. Just think of all the special cakes you can make, now that you know the secret!