Peacock Theme Cake

The graceful peacocks are revered for their beauty and symbolize pride and dignity; although the poor bird is probably oblivious to the emotions of pride and vanity.  I like Jane Austen’s quote “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us”.

 This is my rendition of a peacock theme cake.  Two tiers, the top one a plain yellow chiffon cake with raspberry filling and the lower a carrot cake with cream cheese filling.  Plumage made with gumpaste and the cake is pride and vanity free. Enjoy

"An example I often use to illustrate the reality of vanity, is this: look at the peacock; it's beautiful if you look at it from the front. But if you look at it from behind, you discover the truth... Whoever gives in to such self-absorbed vanity has huge misery hiding inside them"- Pope Francis

"Hello Kitty" cake

Hello Kitty is quite the popular theme for little girl's birthday party. "Hello Kitty" is a character produced by the Japanese company "Sanrio". It is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow which has become a huge marketing phenomenon popular among children and adults.

This cake was for a one year old little girl. I am not sure she appreciated the cake details, but she was happy to cut the elaborate pink cake. The cake was a yellow chiffon cake with strawberry filling. Enjoy. 

Tea Set cakes

A tea-set cake for my tea drinking Mom. The teapot was a carrot cake with cream cheese filling and the little ones were plain yellow cake with cannoli fillings. I spread fig jam on the teacup cake to make it look like tea.

So lets have a tea party (not the political kind) and talk about all good things..... about being thankful for the bounty that God has bestowed us. If we start to catalog our blessings with the ocean water as ink--- all oceans will dry up and we still wont be done with listing our blessings.  

Bubble Bath Baby Shower cake

This was for a baby shower for a young couple and their precious little angel on her way. Since it is the first child, they will probably sterilize everything, make everyone disinfect their hands before holding the baby,  on average take a picture a minute and freak out at every little sound or lack of sounds emmitting from the little bundle of joy.  It is different with the subsequent children...  
"When your baby first drops her pacifier you sterilize it, When your second baby drops her pacifier you tell the dog FETCH"  Bruce Lansky. 

The lower layer was a yellow chiffone cake with raspberry filling. The bath-tub was a carrot cake with cream cheese filling... yum!

People who say they sleep like a baby usually dont have one--- L J Burke

Birkin Cake

The Birkin bag is a handbag by Hermès, handmade in leather and named after actress and singer Jane Birkin.   In 1981, Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas was seated next to Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London. She had just placed her straw bag in the overhead compartment of her seat, but the contents fell to the deck, leaving her to scramble to replace the contents. Birkin explained to Dumas that it had been difficult to find a leather weekend bag she liked. In 1984, he created a black supple leather bag for her, based on an 1892 design. She used the bag for herself then later changed her mind because she was carrying too many things in it: “What’s the use of having a second one?” she laughs. “You only need one and that busts your arm; they’re bloody heavy. I’m going to have to have an operation for tendonitis in the shoulder.” Nevertheless, the bag has since become an icon.

Although the Birkin bag is free of logos, it is one of the most recognized bags in the fashion industry and by the public. It is highly coveted and, for several years, was reputed for having a waiting list of up to 6 years – the longest wait for any bag in history. As a result of the strong demand, the Birkin bag has a high reselling value in many countries.  In April 2010, Hermès announced that the waiting list would no longer exist, implying that it is potentially available to all.

The bag is a symbol of wealth due to its high price exclusivity and usage by celebrities. Price ranges from $7,400 to $150,000.  Maybe I could save up and purchase one of the cheaper varieties, but I would rather donate the $$ to someone in need of a roof over their head.  I prefer this, more delicious version with delightful almond chiffon cake and almond cardomom mousse filling, Très dèlicieux.

Tiffany Gift box cake

“The practice of giving and receiving gifts is so universal it is part of what it means to be human. In virtually every culture, gifts and the events at which they are exchanged are a crucial part of the essential process of creating and maintaining social relationships …”. Anthropologist Terry Y. LeVine.

The purpose of giving gifts is to bring joy to both the giver and receiver, promote goodwill, and make for a closer relationship.  However, if gift-giving goes amiss, there is a likelihood of attics and basements full of objects never used or appreciated. I always ask for "perishable" gifts... I think one can not go wrong with flowers or food, so if the receiver does not like the gift, it will soon wilt or get eaten... thus saving a lot of attic and basement space. 

This red hot little blue gift box was a cake for an engagement party where the bride and groom professed to be a gift for each other. What a lovely gift! hope it is the “non-perishable” kind!  Open this gift box and find a passion fruit cake with passion cream cheese filling. As per request of the bride I made it quite tart....  she loved it.

Book cake

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 1985 is a literary historical cross-genre novel by German writer Patrick Süskind. The novel explores the sense of smell and its relationship with the emotional meaning that scents may carry. Above all it is a story of identity, communication and the morality of the human spirit.

This cake was for a book club discussing this publication. It was a delightful carrot nut cake that looked exactly like the book.