Sewing Machine cake

This sewing machine cake is in memory of our beautiful mother, who left us early this year. I have been thinking of making this cake for her for a while, but I never got a chance while she was with us.  Today I made this machine cake in her memory. She had a hand operated Singer sewing machine with which she created all kinds of garments, cushions, curtains, you name it! She taught me how to sew and to this day I am thankful to her every time I need to alter a piece of clothing.  

This cake needed serious support construction; thanks Tom for building it for me! The base cake is orange cake with cannoli amaretto filling. The right column is a plain yellow cake with raspberry filling. The rest of it was sculpted with rice crispy treats, which I made from scratch- including the marshmallows.  The cake construction was pretty easy since Tom made the structure for me.  The only challenge was the balance wheel which was heavy so it sagged a bit by the time of the party.  

Here is a prayer for our beautiful MoYing; may God grant you the best place in the afterlife. 

Miss you  every day. 

Harry Potter Monster book cake

Harry Potter is a series of very popular fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. These novels feature a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends who are all students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  In one of these series of novels a ferocious Monster Book of Monsters appeared with its tongue and mouth and eyes.  This cake is my rendition of this book for my little niece who is a Harry Potter fan.I watched several Harry Potter  movies, but I must confess they did not fascinate me.  But this cake was fun to make. It was a red velvet cake with cream cheese filling....... "Expecto patronium"!

Witch Hat cake

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, to celebrate their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

Trick-or-treating began in areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland when people went house-to-house "souling" - asking for small breads called "soul cakes" in exchange for prayer. Adults also went door-to-door asking for food and drinks in exchange for a song or dance. Immigrants from Ireland and Scotland brought Halloween to the United States in the 1800s. Haitian and African immigrants brought voodoo beliefs about black cats, fire, and witchcraft. Today we enjoy Halloween by handing out candy and dress up in the most creative costumes.

So here is a cake that looks like a witch's hat. It is an almond cake with almond buttercream filling.  Trick-or-Treat!

Did you know? One quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween. Total spending on candy is estimated to reach $9 billion in 2018.

Fabergé Egg Cake

Fabergé eggs are jeweled egg shaped structures, created by the House of Fabergé, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Virtually all were manufactured under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé between 1885 and 1917. They were primarily made for the Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers.  I visited the Faberge museum this summer with my dear dear friend who turned 90 this month.  So this cake was for her birthday party in memory of a fabulous visit to St Petersburg. It was a huge cake that weighed at least 30 pounds.  It took me close to 40 hours to make it.  The birthday girl loved it and bragged to her friends about me as the cake artist. God Bless you dear friend.

The bottom cushion was a carrot nut cake with cream cheese filling and the top two layers were almond with marzipan cannoli filling.

Babushka cake

It's hard to find a symbol of Russia more popular than these adorable nesting dolls. These decorated wooden dolls "with a secret" are also called matryoshka dolls or babushka dolls. These little babushkas traditionally represent family and motherhood and are a classic symbol of Russia and its culture.

Last week I returned from a fabulous Baltic cruise that docked at St Petersburg which is an enchanting place with rich history and most opulent palaces, museums, churches and little treasures.  This cake is in memory of a delightful visit to Russia. It is a carrot nut cake with cream cheese filling.  I can't think of a way of making a cake inside a cake inside another---- but I guess I could make 5 of these of different sizes. For now, I made one. Enjoy!

Sliced babushka cake

gift bag cake

This cake was for a lovely lady who likes shopping; she calls it "retail therapy". This ironic and facetious definition of shopping was coined in the 80s stipulating that shopping improves the buyer's mood or disposition.  She says "sometimes it’s crazy at home, and so I go to the mall for some me time". Be it window shopping, online scrolling, or pawing through racks at outlet malls, shopping really can be a mental refresher — like a blip of a vacation without any packing or planning.  Shopping can also be a rich source of mental preparation during a change in life like marriage, having a baby and even shopping for back to school supplies--- all preparing for the time to come.

We all enjoy a little retail therapy now and then. In small, manageable doses, it can soothe the soul. Shopping isn’t a problem when it’s done in moderation. As long as it does not get out of hand, lets meet at the Mall!. 

This gift bag cake was a delightful carrot nut cake with cream cheese filling.  Yum!

 “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping”

Fez Cake

Fez hat-named after the Moroccan city Fez. It is one of the symbols of the Ottoman modernity.  Someone gave one of these hats to my brother, and he wears it every year at his birthday.  He calls it his 'Rumi Topi' (Rumi cap).

So this time I made a fez cake for his birthday.  It was a very simple vanilla cake with whip cream filling. Eat my hat!