Pitcher cake

This cake is like an earthenware pitcher (ghara) used to store and cool water. The pores of the lining allow water evaporation and thereby cooling of the water inside. It is still used to cool drinking water in parts of the world where electricity/refrigeration is not readily available. I made this cake for my beautiful mother's 90th birthday. She did not grow up with refrigeration, air conditioning and many facilities that we take for granted.  She never complained and turned out a strong and resourceful person. God Bless!. 

It is a plain yellow cake with Bavarian cream filling. Mom was amused at the cake design, and did not want to cut it. 

It is also used as a musical instrument, when empty, of-course. The hollow sound can bring forth lovely music when played creatively. 

Minion cake

I have been wanting to make a cake featuring these adorable creatures from one of my favorite movies. The Minions are small, yellow, cylindrical, creatures who have one or two eyes.  They are impulsive creatures with little self-control, but with a wide-eyed wonder and odd innocence that is completely endearing. They can be pesky when they are doing weird interactions with other people, animals, or objects.  I laughed so hard when I saw the movie, no one wanted to sit with me. The funniest part is, they are villains. If only the world’s villains would be like these cuties.

As such they have an air of nonchalance in the most daunting situations.  Maybe there is a lesson for us--- keep calm and handle situations one day at a time. Sometimes one minute at a time.

The cake was a fruit cake with craisins, raisins, almonds and pistacios. Yum!

Baby Owl cake

An owl cake for a baby shower. It was fun to decorate with images of this gorgeous creature. the cake is a lovable little owl perched on a branch: Look Whooo is having a baby. It was a lemon chiffon cake with lemon filling, decorated with buttercream icing. 

It was fun to create this cute creature, which to me is embodiment of peace and quiet. In this day and age of unrest; of senseless and random acts of violence, the serenity of this owl is like another dimension. A place as peaceful and still as night with an owl watching quietly. 

May this world be filled with peace. May our hearts brim with kindness. May God have mercy on mankind, ameen. 

TERRORISM HAS NO PLACE IN ISLAM: Allah says in Qur’an, “Whosoever kills an innocent human being, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind”. Quran 5:32

Prayers and good wished for Paris, Beruit, Iraq, Syria, Gaza

Castle Cake

A castle cake for a “50 shades of Gold” party which was a happier rendition of friendship and camaraderie, designed to create golden memories.

The castle had nothing to do with the theme of the event, except the color. I just wanted to make a castle cake.  I think the best part of sightseeing in Europe is to visit old castles and fortresses.  Facinating structures these medieval fortified residence. European castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire which resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive and defensive structures; as well as centers of administration and symbols of power. This little castle is not a symbol of power, it is a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling. Covered with white chocolate cigarettes and shavings sprayed with edible gold.

A neurotic is a man who builds a castle in the air. A psychotic is the man who lives in it. A psychiatrist is the man who collects the rent.

Jerome Lawrence

Mad Hatter Tea party

Mad Hatter to Alice......."You used to be much more muchier, You've lost your muchness"
This was a much much fun cake for a much much fun "Mad Hatter" tea party. The hat cake was a delicate orange cake with orange mousse filling. The cup was also orange cake but with orange buttercream filling. The candybar marked "eat me" contained coconut in nougat with pistachios and cashew nuts, very rich.  

The Hatter explains to Alice that he and the March Hare are always having tea because, when he tried to sing for the Queen of Hearts at her celebration, she sentenced him to death for "murdering the time," but he escapes decapitation. In retaliation, Time (referred to as a "Him") halts himself in respect to the Hatter, keeping him and the March Hare stuck at 6:00 forever. The tea party, when Alice arrives, is characterized by switching places on the table at any given time, making short, personal remarks, asking unanswerable riddles and reciting nonsensical poetry, all of which eventually drive Alice away.

Although the name "Mad Hatter" was clearly inspired by the phrase "as mad as a hatter", there is some uncertainty as to the origins of this phrase. Mercury was used in the process of curing felt used in some hats, making it impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the mercury fumes given off during the hat making process; hatters and mill workers thus often suffered mad hatter disease, mercury poisoning causing neurological damage including confused speech and distorted vision.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where -' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'- so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.”

Stack of vintage books

This cake looks like a stack of vintage books in “Urdu” the official language of Pakistan also spoken in many parts of India.  The word Urdu is derived from a Turkish word “ordu” which means army. It is a mix of several languages like Farsi and Arabic. It is very similar to spoken Hindi language of India but is written in Persian script. Urdu is the most expressive language. The sound patterns, the cadence, the lyricism, the expressiveness and eloquence are unparalleled. It has the emotional depth and ability to convey so much- virtually any emotion or experience in a mere couplet. It deeply touches and brings together people across age groups, regions, religions, boundaries. It is not merely a language but a culture.

This cake was for an event with an Urdu theme. The stack of vintage books with topics representing Urdu prose and poetry were quite popular at the event.  If you opened the two books on the top you would find chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling covered with chocolate fondant. The bottom two books were carrot cake with cream cheese filling. Enjoy.

Jewelry Box Cake

A jewelry box cake for my beautiful Mom.  The box is a carrot nut cake with delicious cream cheese filling. The jewelry is made of chocolate and edible diamonds.  It was fun to construct this cake; I needed some serious hardware to help stand the lid.  The logo has my Mom’s Chinese name “MoYing” on it. 

This winter has been a tough time for Mom and us all. But difficult times come and then go away if we hang in there and have faith in God Almighty. Plus if we did not have bad times, how would we recognize and appreciate the good ones?. Someone once told me "we get complacent so sometimes we need a "slap" to get back on track". Hopefully this cake will herald better times. 

“I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. 

Some come from ahead, others come from behind. 

But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready, you see. 

Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me.”

– Dr. Seuss