Treasure Chest Cake with Mermaid

cakelava.com

We first met the parents of Nicholas and Reagan six years ago, when Rick made their three foot tall wedding cake and a surprise groom's cake. The couple returned to us for birthday celebrations, always bringing us fun, sometimes crazy, themes along the way - like a sculpted Palmolive bottle cake! They adore cake - the taste of it as much as the appearance - and we always look forward to making their special cakes! When they started having children, Rick began making cakes for Nicholas and Reagan who, for the past couple of years, have celebrated birthdays together. Last year, Rick made them each their own cake. This year their interests were combined into one cake with a Pirate and Mermaid theme, represented by a treasure chest filled with jewels with a pretty mermaid on the side. It was so much fun to do and we were excited about it as soon as the order was placed!

Given our long history of making cakes for this family, Rick wanted to go the extra mile
and FILL their treasure chest until it was overflowing with pretty, all edible jewels.  He started working on their cake days in advance, first making and painting the mermaid then making the jewels and sculpting the treasure chest. The treasure chest was sculpted out of vanilla cake and had a delicious caramel cream filling. Rick estimates 15 hours was spent making the cake, and once again, his work area and hands looked like a color explosion had occurred!

After the party was over, our clients sent us an adorable photo of their son Nicholas, in his Pirate costume holding a sword. This little cutie captured our hearts and made all the hard work and time spent on the cake completely worth it. Happy Birthday to Nicholas and Reagan! We hope to see them and their family again next year!

cakelava.com

Inspired by ... Books!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Books are never far from our mind. Especially these days, now that we have written one of our own and understand how involved the process is from conception to publication. We have complete respect for authors who put in a great amount of effort to share their knowledge, making many sacrifices along the way. Books have long inspired the creation of art and have brought people together. In the cake industry, books have been a continuous source of inspiration for designers.

We have assembled some of our favorite themed cakes made by cakelava and inspired by books. Many of these books are classics and included on lists of people's favorite books of all time.  Each cake included was made by Rick. All decorations were handmade and painted and the art was done freehand. The client gave Rick creative license to design the cake as he felt best, and as with most of our celebration cakes, we didn't know what the cake design would be until he was actually working on it.

We want to acknowledge each of the book authors, whose timeless words and art inspired us to create!

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Thomas the Tank Engine

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Sandra Boynton books theme

Piglet from Winnie the Pooh

The Wealth of Nations

Happy Birthday, Ernie Santiago, Mr. U.S.A. 1983!

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One of our favorite perks of owning a business comes from building a relationship with clients that goes beyond making their cake. This is especially true of clients that return to us repeatedly. With each cake they order, we learn a little more about them, whether it is an interest we never knew existed, or getting to meet the newest addition to their family. In the case of the Santiagos', who are regular clients of ours (and some of the nicest people we know), we got quite a surprise when they ordered their latest cake - a sculpted partial body of bodybuilder Ernie Santiago, Mr. U.S.A. 1983. Mr. U.S.A. 1983? We never knew Ernie was a famous bodybuilder, much less won such a fabulous title! We were so excited to make a likeness of Ernie circa 1983 to honor of his 60th Birthday, another milestone event! The cake was as relevant today as it was 30 years ago, as Ernie is still very committed to bodybuilding and is preparing for his next competition!

This was a really fun design process! First came the photos - Ernie on bodybuilding magazine covers, in competition, and at the beach posing. I couldn't believe my eyes! "THAT'S our Ernie?!!"
My jaw dropped, practically hitting the floor when his wife sent the photos. It was one of those awesome moments where you learn something so surprising about someone you would never look at them the same way again. Seeing our client Ernie with a totally ripped body, 30 years earlier was pretty mind-blowing! We knew this was going to be some cake!

cakelava Loves Nutella!

cakelava Loves Nutella! Apparently, so do the students at Columbia University. A recent article emerged on NBC.com and was also featured on The Today Show this morning, stating that Columbia University Students love their Nutella so much they are consuming up to 100 pounds a day in the dining hall, racking up a bill as high as $5,000 a week! That is a lot of chocolate hazelnut deliciousness!

I had a meal plan in college - and they don't run cheap! Having to partake in the usual cafeteria food fare can be a real crap shoot. I looked for recognizable brands so I knew what I was getting into. I can see how having gourmet comforts, especially premium items like Nutella, not covered by many college students' budgets might cause some chaos. I'm sure if Nutella was served at my college dining hall that we would be hoarding it and taking jars of it back to our dorm rooms. That is exactly what is happening at Columbia University. Students are filling cups full of Nutella and stealing jars of the stuff. At $5,000 a week, 52 weeks in a year, that could add $250,000 plus into the food budget of the dining hall! When students are paying $15,000 to $40,000 a year for tuition, and more for a dining plan, they might feel entitled to take as much as they want.

Maybe Columbia University should keep the coveted product locked up, having the dining hall ration it to the students. This is how my chefs used to dispense the Saffron (the world's most expensive spice), truffle oil, truffles,  Fleur de Sel or aged balsamic vinegar we used in our dishes. We had to ask for it and it was kept under lock and key. An inconvenience for sure, but we learned the value of the products and didn't waste them! The University could employ someone specifically to oversee the Nutella station. It would give someone who needs a job easy employment and the cost would be way cheaper than a quarter of a million dollars a year!

Nutella isn't as high a cost as the gourmet items on my list above, so maybe it doesn't merit being locked up, but it is expensive. cakelava has had Banana Nutella cake on our menu almost since the beginning and long before the chocolate spread became trendy here. It was a flavor Rick and I came up with together after I was inspired by the Banana Nutella crepes while in Paris. We have purchased a large amount of Nutella and understand why the Columbia University students are hoarding it. The fascinating part of the Columbia University story is even though the cost for keeping the coveted Nutella in stock is so high, the dining hall is planning to keep offering it, and may limit other in-demand foods like ... lobster tails. Lobster tails or Nutella? This is a no brainer! Bring on the Nutella!