Feliz cumpleanos!

This next cake was a Mexican themed cake, for a woman who is learning Spanish to complement her husband's job in Texas, close to the Mexico border. The specifications: the flag of Mexico, and a sombrero. Beyond that, it was up to me. So I had some fun with it, but only a little, as it was a rather last minute order.

I had thought the Mexican flag was simple and straightforward, but then I Googled it and found it was rather intricate, with an elaborate crest in the middle. I did my best impressionist rendering of it, and this photo is thankfully rather blurry.The sombrero came out very cute and cartoon-y. I chose a font that is reminiscent of Mexico and that was a lot of fun to do. I added cacti and chili peppers to the sides, and voila! Admittedly, this cake could have used a little more decoration on top, like a chili pepper or two, but all in all a very cute cake, even given the super fast turn-around time. I amped up the Mexican character of the chocolate cake by filling the layers with a Mexican chocolate filling - flavors of coffee and cinnamon accenting the chocolate cream, soooo goooood! I could totally have eaten it by the spoonful, if I was not so careful to make correct quantities without leftovers.

Happy Birthday, Yael - or Feliz cumpleanos, Jael!

Dvora

When a lot of cake is too much...

A customer called last week, wanting to celebrate her visiting mother's birthday, but not wanting a lot of cake, as the celebration was to be small and intimate. The solution: a six inch cake! The adorably petite size was just the thing for a small family birthday party, just enough for everyone to have a piece. I will have to keep this in mind for our next family birthday, as this is the perfect size for us for one dessert. The Hebrew birthday wish is special for a birthday girl who was enjoying her first Israeli birthday.

Sadly, I can almost never show you the inside of a cake, since we are not the ones eating it! But if you could see the inside, you would find vanilla cake with fudge filling between the layers. A truly classic birthday cake combination. Yummm!

Happy Birthday, Zelda!

Dvora

O Chanuka, O Chanuka!

Well, eight nights pass so quickly, with nary a chance to post. We lit candles (8 times), played dreidel (a few times), made latkes (twice - and man were they good!), and generally enjoyed the holiday and the vacation. Hard to believe that in just one more day, the chofesh will be over and the children will be back to the old grind.

And now for some fun Chanuka treats:

Sufganiya cupcakes - tastes a lot like a jelly doughnut, but with slightly less guilt. These are minis, and remind me a lot of Dunkin Donuts munchkins. Here's one on it's own - you can decide for yourself if you see the resemblance.Also lots of fun to make and eat - gelt topped cupcakes. The gelt is made of fondant, and looks a lot like the real thing. These cupcakes are vanilla, topped with swirled peach and blue frosting. So festive! And if you aren't going to get cash, this is not a bad substitute.

Here are some Chanuka platters:

The first week's platters included: Peanut butter chocolate dreidel sandwiches, whoopie pies, orange-cranberry-white chocolate cookies, chocolate caramel Magen David sandwiches, molasses cream sandwiches, and dreidel Linzer sandwiches, with fondant covered sugar cookies on top.

Shabbat featured some variations:

Mini-chocolate caramel Magen David sandwiches, cranberry pecan bars, whoopie pies, linzer sandwiches, chocolate chip brownies, peanut butter chocolate dreidel sandwiches, and, of course, the colorful sugar cookies.

And finally, a custom platter: whoopie pies, glazed lemon cookies, chocolate chip brownies, peanut butter chocolate dreidel sandwiches, and colorful sugar cookies.

Hope you all had a sweet Chanuka!

Dvora