Inside Freeman’s Bakery, a 60-year old Florence institution

FLORENCE – The cakes at Freeman’s Bakery can seem like magic. Once, the bakery made a cake that looked like a giant baked potato. It was cracked open and scooped out, faux butter and sour cream pooling in the middle, topped with green onions. Another time the bakers made a cake the color of a summer sky. A bubblegum-pink ice cream cone sat on top, turned upside down, seemingly melting down the sides. Then there was the ramen cake — a cake in the shape of a blue and white ramen bowl. It contained imitations of classic ingredients — boiled eggs, pork belly, broth. The noodles hung midair, suspended by chopsticks that floated above the cake. All of them leave…