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LeBron James' People Reject Boca Baker's Cake At Bash

BOCA RATON (CBS4)- It was a cake fit for a king. King LeBron James that is, or was it?

"This is turning into a cake war," said pastry chef Alethea Hickman.

It's a cake war-a battle at bakery-all over LeBron James' birthday cake. Hickman said she designed a Heat-red cake with edible gold dust and an edible crown on top for James' birthday party held New Year's Eve.

Hickman, of Passion for Pastry in Boca Raton, said representatives from the Shelbourne Hotel in Miami Beach asked her to create a three-foot cake one day before the New Year's Eve party.

Hickman said that in lieu of payment, she would get publicity for the cake and tickets to the party.

"So I jumped on it" she said. "I was so excited telling me the original person she has for the cake backed out and said, 'Are you able to do this?' I said, 'Yes, I'd loved to' and wouldn't pass up that. I'm a Heat fan so I was honored to do it."

So Hickman said she baked and baked for almost 24 hours before hand delivering the vanilla custard cake to the hotel.

But when she came back later that night her cake was missing in action.

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The Big Three partying for LeBron James' birthday. (Source: Seth Browarnik/ WorldRedEye.com)

"When I went into the dining room where I put the cake it wasn't there and I was like I don't get that. What's up with that?" she said.

The next day the blogs were filled with James' big birthday bash at SL nightclub, where he also proposed to longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson, but there was another cake stealing the spotlight. It was an ivory-colored rum cake with gold lion's heads from Miami's Divine Delicacies, a company that has made cakes for Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and James, among other celebs, in the past.

"Everything just sunk so I can't believe this is happening," Hickman said. "I don't get it. I was totally betrayed. They dissed something that was not easy to come up with. It's very traumatic. I'm an artist. That was a masterpiece to me."

A spokesperson for the Shelbourne released a statement Wednesday saying, "The cake was very nice, however, LeBron's team had also commissioned their preferred purveyor (Divine Delicacies) to create an over-the-top birthday cake; LeBron had no idea that there were two cakes."

So it was clear James' cake was the slam dunk, and Hickman's cake was the rejection.

"Would you do it again?" CBS4's Lisa Petrillo asked.

"Yes, without a second thought. I'm a big fan been my whole life," Hickman said.

Hickman said she just wanted James to have his cake and eat it too.

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