I have a request for a small (6" square) "congratulations" cake. The client's husband just got a promotion at work. He works in the research and development department for a backlighting and technology company.

The only idea I can come up with is a lightbulb, but I don't really like it. Tried searching the gallery using the word "light" and got a bunch of beer cans. Tried using "lighting" and got a bunch of Lightning Mcqueen cakes

If you can come up with an idea I will be really appreciative (not to mention impressed )

try googling what he does and see what comes up, I have no clue what that is

type in stage lighting, and gels (gels are the color films put over lights to change the color of the stage)
Here;s the best idea I came up with. make a sugar plate, raise the sugar plate off the cake with spacer made of fondant and light under it with those colored battery operated lights. The lights will show through the sugar "glass" all hazy, then on top of the sugar plate write congrats "clients name". I think that would look amazing, Problem being how long do those batteries last before they die because they would essentially be sealed in there.

a quick google image search for "backlighting and technology" shows me that backlighting is actually the LED's in the back end of TV's and laptop screens. I dont know if that will help you but maybe you want to ask her to clarify what he actually does.

What about a cake with his company logo kind of as the background and in the forefront a Ladder?

Or the Ladder on top of cake, and something to do with his job on two of the sides and the company logo on the opposite two sides.

Another idea...the word Congrats & his name spelled out of little ladder letters...

KawaiiCakeCook, that's a fabulous idea! I think you could make the spacer hollow underneath and sit it over the light at the last minute thus saving battery power.

I personally have no idea how to work with sugar, but I figured it would look the closest to glass, and I thought of all those cool bars that have the lights under them or the lights showing through glass. Thought it would look cool.

These little things are easy to put into cake:
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/floralyte.html

I LOVE that website!!!!!