“I tripled the frosting recipe because I like a lot of frosting,” smiles Pat Wheeler, spreading sweet butter-yellow swirls on an oversized cake destined to please a lot of palates. She uses a spoon to form a faint circular outline on top, then fills inside the circle with generous dollops of lemon curd, a preserve made from lemons, butter, eggs and sugar.

“I had never made lemon curd before I started making this recipe, and I was scared to death — but it’s really easy to make,” Pat says with enthusiasm. That seems to be how she approaches everything, whether baking cakes that will be in the spotlight at the annual Stephen D. Lee Foundation Valentine gala, working on downtown beautification projects or antiquing for irresistible additions to the Southern primitive decor in her north Columbus home. Not one for frills, Pat is much more at home among her collections of old ironstone and the 150-plus-year-old heart pine salvaged for her countertops. Dozens of plantings on kitchen windowsills and surfaces absorb ambient sunlight from windows overlooking the woods behind the house. In this homey environment, Pat puts finishing touches on the lemon cheese layer cake to be served at the fundraiser. (“I’m not sure why they call it lemon cheese; there’s no cheese in the recipe,” she says.) She had already completed an elegantly-iced strawberry cake for the occasion. Cake decorating skills she first picked up in a mini-course at Mississippi University for Women years ago have greatly expanded and been used to good purpose.

“Desserts have always been my favorite things to do,” Pat says. “And I love to try new recipes.”

The big meals of past years when the Pat and Doug Wheeler’s three boys were growing up may be fairly rare now, but Doug does like to have a dessert in the house.

“I don’t do any cooking, but I do the eating,” laughs Doug, “She’s developed into a fantastic cook. My two favorites are her chocolate cake and chocolate pecan pie.”

Pat’s talents are not limited to sweets, of course. She and fellow tennis player Bette Rhea started a cookbook club about 10 years ago that is still active, and holidays usually find the extended family gathered around the Wheelers’ farmhouse dining table. The grandchildren in particular are fans of Pat’s homemade chicken and dumplings. All six grandkids live in the Golden Triangle or in Tupelo, so there are ample opportunities to get them in the kitchen. The eldest granddaughter is learning how to make the chicken and dumplings.

“And even the 16-year-old grandson loves to dice, and the 11-year-old boy loves to get in here and make sausage balls,” says Pat. “All the grandchildren like to make granddaddy’s favorite chocolate cake with me.”

Encouraging the next generation is important for all families, especially in a fast-paced society, where households too often don’t have time to cook, much less reinforce etiquette and social dining skills, Pat believes. Which is one reason she makes a point of setting her table for special occasions with cloth napkins, silver and china. She hopes her own grandchildren come to appreciate what she has learned — that cooking and dining can be a joy, whether for a big family meal, or in making sumptuous cakes for a community fundraiser. It’s a way of both bringing together, and of giving back.

LEMON CHEESE LAYER CAKE

For lemon curd:

1 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

4 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon zest

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

For cake layers:

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 large eggs, separated at room temperature

1 tablespoon orange zest

3 cups cake flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh orange juice

For lemon-orange buttercream frosting:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted and divided

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tablespoon orange zest