Students from The Culinary Arts Institute of Montgomery County Community College helped America’s first president celebrate his 287th birthday by baking a special cake for him using Martha Washington’s original recipe.

The red, white and blue layer cake was presented to General George Washington on President’s Day, Feb. 18, at Valley Forge National Historical Park in King of Prussia, Pa. The crowd, led by Martha Washington, sang “Happy Birthday” to George before he sliced the cake with his sword.

Following the ceremony, Culinary Arts students Liam Case, Angelyna De la Casas, Pamela Edwards, Anna Gedzul, Nancy Martinez, Theresa Musso, Julianna Naylor, Alexa Pierson, Isabella Vitelli, Julie Wahlig and Rebecca Weidman served cupcakes and slices of the cake to the crowd. Families also had the opportunity to make birthday cards for General Washington.

The students are part of Chef Joseph Jacques’ Bakery Production class at CAI. It has become an annual tradition for the class, including students Alexandria Berman, Jessica Martine, Andrew Connick, Rose Schmiedicke, Taylor Hange and Katharine Lukens, to bake the cake, using the special recipe, as well as hundreds of cupcakes.

The Culinary Arts Institute of Montgomery County Community College is the region’s home for innovative, affordable culinary arts education and training, as well as non-credit culinary enthusiast and professional development course offerings. The 15,000-square-foot facility at 1400 Forty Foot Road, Lansdale, in Towamencin Township. The facility features four state-of-the-art kitchens and equipment, three SMART classrooms, and a retail restaurant, where students can develop real-world food preparation and customer service skills.