All of life's important moments are marked by one of three things: eating a cake, passing a torch, or signing on the bottom line of a clown-college certificate. Embrace edible celebration with today's Groupon: for $45, you get one cake-decorating class at Amanda Oakleaf Cakes in Winthrop (up to a $90 value). All classes begin at 6 p.m.

Amanda Oakleaf, a savvy baker featured on TLC's Fabulous Cakes and Food Network Cake Challenge, helms a close-knit crew of cakesmiths who teach students of all skill levels to craft dazzling desserts from homemade fondant and buttercream. Cake-makers can choose from a variety of classes, on topics such as architecting a set of holiday cupcakes, home-brewing buttercream and fondant, and baking life-size cake replicas of all 44 presidents. In Fun With Fondant (Tuesday, November 15) students receive a crumb-coated cake to adorn with their own handcrafted fondant and gumpaste embellishments, and Buttercream Basics (Tuesday, December 6) provides a precursor to more advanced classes as pupils learn to level, fill, stack, and decorate within the rich, velvety medium. Experienced frosting-slingers might sign up for Intro to Gumpaste Figurines (Tuesday, November 29), where they bring photos to help hand-sculpt one human and one pet in sugary style. Amanda Oakleaf Cakes regularly adds classes, and includes supplies with each two- or three-hour session. All participants may take cakes home afterward, where they devour them or stuff them with precious family heirlooms.