Drum Cake

 

A drum cake for my musically inclined brother.  There was a time when drums served as tools for long distance communication, announcing events, and passing down history and cultural identity.  Maybe this mode of communication still exists.  

This was a vanilla cake with walnuts and craisins and a raspberry filling. May this drum cake herald peace on Earth.   

 

"The drum without a drummer is silent." — African Proverb 

(Meaning: Tools and potential are useless without effort and engagement).

 

Another purse cake

 

The purse cake represents a fascinating amalgam of culinary art and fashion and has gained popularity as a "statement" piece that acts as a conversation starter at events. I made this as a fun gift for a lovely aunt’s 83^rd birthday where it was more an edible centerpiece than dessert.  It is not an edible knockoff of any brand.

 

While we enjoy our lovely parties let’s not forget the less fortunate in this world, especially those living in war-torn areas. While we wish and pray for harmony, global peace is currently at its lowest level in recent history.  WORLD---PLEASE STOP FIGHTING. 

Peach cake

 

A peach cake for a peach of a Mom on her birthday- she would have been 100 today. Peach was her favorite fruit.  The cake did not taste peachy at all; it was a simple vanilla cake with raspberry filling.  Yum!  Peaches are packed with vitamin A, E and C, carotenoids and other antioxidants that support skin, immunity, and eye health.  Peaches originated in China and there are over 2000 varieties of this fruit.  What a delicious gift for mankind!

"Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." – Mark Twain 

Cooking pot cake

Cooking up a storm with a cooking pot cake with meatballs in red curry. The cake shell was white chocolate and inside that was an almond cake with almond cannoli filling. The meatballs were Ferrero Rocher chocolate. the red sauce was red chocolate ganache. Yum. Underneath the cake some fairy lights simulate cooking fire. 

As we savor the delicious cake let us not forget those less fortunate and hungry in this world.  God has distributed His bounty unevenly so we need each other. Here's to hope for a better world where man does not let his brother starve. 

"You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. This is how prayer works." - Pope Francis 

 

Amazon Package cake

Online shopping has changed the face of purchasing considerably especially since the COVID confinement of 2020-2022. The convenience allows 24/7 shopping, with a huge selection, convenient delivery and then there are customer reviews and easy returns.  But then the pleasure of touching and smelling the product is lacking. The personal touch and immediate gratification is missing. Amazon.com shopping is so convenient and downright addictive, nevertheless Shopping at malls will not become obsolete; we still need the social aspects of shopping in malls. 

This is a carrot cake with cream cheese filling shaped like an Amazon package. Several people grabbed it like a box in an attempt to open it- It was pretty smudged by the time it was cut. Finally we had to place a sign of "Cake---do not touch" in front of it. 

"Ecommerce isn't the cherry on the cake, it's the new cake" Jean Paul Ago

I have a whole system down for returning online shopping: a tape gun, a printer for return labels. That has replaced traditional window shopping in my life, as I've gotten busier.

Mindy Kaling

 

Coke cake

This coca Cola bottle cake was fun to make. I took a coke bottle and cut it, then lined it with chocolate and then filled with pistachio cake with kunefe/pistachio layer and pistachio flavored cream. 

Pistachio kunefe flavor is becoming quite popular since the viral trend of the Dubai Chocolate bar.  Kunefe adds an interesting texture; not as crispy as rice crispies, but somewhat chewy. Yum.


 

Strawberry shaped cake

Strawberries have been used as symbols of love, purity, and even the Virgin Mary, as well as a symbol for romantic gestures. This “strawberry” shaped cake does not allude to any of this.  Strawberry is a beautiful, delicious and nutritious fruit.  I just wanted to make a cake that looks like this luscious fruit.   It was an almond cake with almond cannoli filling.

Today I focus on hope; to invent it, to insist on it. Hope and aspiration for an end to conflict and violence. While we wait for what happens next in this world let’s hope for peace and justice. Perhaps hope comes with faith in the inherent balance of the universe and/or faith in the Almighty. May tomorrow’s sun bring a dawn of peace on this blue marble, Amen.