Firefighter's cakes satisfy the county's sweet teeth

His confections are a hobby, he says, and he refuses to take money for them. Those who eat them say they're priceless.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 2, 2000

[Times photo: Maurice Rivenbark] Dennis Hackett, a fire captain for the East Hernando Fire Department, holds a cake he baked and brought to the Hernando County Government Center.

Dennis Hackett loves to fight fires.

The son of New York City's first diesel fireboat operator, Hackett grew up in the world of battling blazes and never thought about having any other career. He has been on the job 28 of his 49 years, including the past eight with the East Hernando Fire Department.

"It was just my upbringing," he said. "I was born into it."

As the youngest of four siblings, Hackett also found himself cast in another role that he grew to enjoy with equal passion.

"I used to prepare the family's meals," he said. "I learned how to bake when I was 12 years old."

So when he's not leading the charge against wildfires or helping save a house, Hackett, a fire captain, makes cakes. "Delectable delights," he calls them.

The many friends and colleagues who have tasted any of the many varieties he creates agree with that definition. Only they call the cakes "mmmmmmm."

Such was the case Thursday.

Just before 9 a.m., Hackett parked his department-issue jeep near the downtown Brooksville post office and walked down N Magnolia Avenue with a 16-inch round cake perched above his head in each hand. The triple-chocolate cake with chocolate frosting went to the county Social Services office; the carrot-walnut-raisin cake with cream cheese frosting went to the Development Review Committee.

"There's no knife here. That's what's bumming me out," chief utilities inspector Robert Mills said as he stared at the carrot cake. "They're every bit as good as they look."

No such problem in Social Services, where director Jean Rags keeps utensils in her desk drawer for special occasions.

"I've been waiting for this," Rags said as she plunged the knife through the chocolate. She took a bite and smiled. "I could just sit here and eat this all day long."

Rags offered Hackett a piece. He demurred, saying the pleasures others derive from the cakes make him happy.

Besides, he said: "If I ate a bite of cake for every cake I bake, I would weigh 350 pounds. That wouldn't be advantageous for me to go fight fires all over the country."

Hackett is trained and certified to manage several battalions combating wildfires. To maintain his status, he also must maintain his health. One of the requirements is completing a 3-mile hike while carrying a 45-pound pack in fewer than 45 minutes.

In past years, Hackett has traveled to Tennessee, Kentucky, California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana and Oregon to fight fires. This summer, he stayed closer to home, working on the blazes in southern Sarasota County.

His largest fire came in 1992. It covered 142,000 acres and had a 92-mile perimeter. Yet it does not stand out in Hackett's mind among the many he has helped to douse.

"Each one is unique and each one has an experience to learn from it," he said.

The same thing is true for his cakes. Although he uses recipes as a guide, Hackett does not use measuring cups or spoons and he often varies the ingredients to achieve some new specialty. He closely guards his baking secrets.

He will say that he buys flour by the 50-pound bag, eggs by the flat and vanilla by the gallon. The kitchen of his home north of Brooksville is nothing special, except for the largest residential-sized oven and mixer available, and the oversized pans that allow him to feed dozens of people with a single confection.

"Captain puts weight on just about everyone he meets," said Danny Roberts, east Hernando fire chief.

Different departments have different favorites. The County Commission goes for pineapple upside-down; Planning Department employees prefer cheesecake; and budget writers like the double-chocolate brownies.

Community Relations often asks Hackett to bake for special events, such as the reception for the new county attorney and administrator in March. And although everyone offers to pay him, noting the ingredients must cost him a fortune, Hackett won't take the cash because baking is his hobby.

"All of it combined relaxes me," he said. "Just sitting in the kitchen waiting for the oven to do its job, having the aroma all through the house. Nothing relaxes me more than fresh-baked cakes or breads directly from the oven."

The flops never make it out of the kitchen. The successes, meanwhile, can be found throughout the county. Hackett has no plans to open a bakery, though. After all, he said, that would take all the fun out of his passion to bake.

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