Lil' Pumpkin

Dark chocolate fudge cupcake for a baby shower to honor a special couple's very own first little pumpkin...Decorations in butter-cream frosting and sugar.

Happy Notes

I read somewhere that life does not consist of the number of breaths you take but of the number of moments that take your breath away.  A range of emotions from cries of joy to painful sighs fill our days and years and in the end if we have been able to bank the laughter more than the tears we feel life has been worth it.  The hard work is to figure out a way to bank the giggles so that we may use them at times that call for tears. 

Worry, anxiety, stress, ego or depression appear to have become a daily agenda item.  It's no small wonder that we now struggle to feel relaxed and enjoy the fun things life has to offer.  My significant other often says that "it's not a big deal if you don't want it to be"...there's so much wisdom in that train of thought.  Is it really a big deal if my son spills his yogurt on his clothes at the breakfast table just before school or is the fact that he is self feeding and self reliant a bigger deal?  Clearly the latter, yet I tend to focus on the former and spend the next couple of minutes in a high decibel exchange of words that leaves both me and my child feeling so much more worse.   Is it really a big deal that my daughter can't get one task right for the 100th time but does 500 other tasks flawlessly?  I don't know about you but if life is a song, I have been focusing on the wrong notes all along and that would explain why  humming the right tune is so elusive...

"play on rajnish" was a mellow lemon cake with lemon custard filling and frosted with butter-cream icing.  The edible rose/petal decor was done using fondant and sugar pearls were used to mimic drops of rain to shower good health, fortune and happy notes to the birthday boy.

Building Blocks of Fun (LEGO)

Eggless cupcakes with butter-cream frosting, sprinkles and fondant shaped all edible LEGO pieces.

For the Love of Cricket

A mild pineapple cake filled with two layers of apricot & pineapple spread; covered in an all fondant decor was created to showcase a child's love of the British sport on his seventh birthday.

Dreaming of a Donut

What are dreams and why do we have them when we sleep?  Leading dream researchers have embarked on a variety of neurological and psychological experiments to investigate the world of sleep and dreams. Delving deep into the thoughts and brains of a variety of people, scientists are asking important questions about the purpose of this mysterious realm we escape to at night. But a definitive answer still eludes their study.  

I like to think of dreams as portrayals of our deepest desires, fantasies and creative feats that the heart and mind yearns for but the soul has yet to achieve.  They take us to a happy time, allow us to fly and escape into a world of superfluous being where there are no bars to what one can achieve. Nightmares on the other hand are the ones which bring to forefront our fears and apprehensions.  Then there are those "dreams" which show us glimpses of the future and make us wonder how this paranormal phenomenon occurs.  Let's leave the scientific studies over the debate about dreams and paranormal activity to the neurologists and experts.  Let's focus on the enjoyable factor of a dream.

While our concept of a 'sweet' dream may not literally look like that as envisioned by a certain Simpson family member, you have to admit that the sugar-glazed donut with sprinkles along with a few beer cans symbolize guilty pleasures.  Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral or fattening and causes cancer in lab mice.  So why not enjoy the various treats of life that our happy dreams have to offer.  It's the best way to indulge without the after-effects mentioned.  So if you are dreaming of a vacation, a slice of pie, to meet that someone special or winning a medal, I say dream BIG.  For, dreams are what gives us the feeling of being on cloud nine and inspires us to reach out and achieve our goals.

A mild pineapple egg-less cake (top stack in the shape of a donut) with banana and vanilla custard filling was the "sweet-dream" choice of the birthday celebration.

A Festive Rangoli

"Rang" means color.  Rangoli refers to a dance of colors symbolizing joy and happiness, and a blend of cultures and traditions in celebrating various Hindu festivals.  These intricate folk art decorations are typically hand drawn with colored rice powder at the doorstep or in the courtyard of homes.  They are considered sacred and auspicious in bringing good fortune to our lives.  With the various festivals like Navratri, Durga Puja, Dusshera and Diwali knocking on our doors this month, I chose this as means of bringing good wishes to the birthday girl.
An eggless mild pineapple flavored cake with banana and vanilla custard filling was the calling of the day.

It is a fact that the sense of smell can trigger human memory.  What I did not know was that certain words or phrases can do the same as well.  Just recently I came across a mention of "shiuli phool"(parijaat flower) in an online post.  It immediately brought back a flood of memories from my childhood.  Wet autumn mornings, my grandmother's home, a courtyard showered with tiny white and orange flowers and myself in the middle of it, stooping down with delight to pick up as many as I could to fill my tiny bowl.  Then there was that occasional prickly caterpillar that would sometimes cause a nuisance...Ohhh...how I wish life could be that simple and sweet again...Why is it that I could find heavenly bliss in a simple act as that and have to conscientiously strive to be happy now?  What do we lose when we grow up?  What is it that takes up the place of simple delights, small pleasures and mundane happiness to make us so stressed in our lives today? 

Our genes don't change and since cognitive studies claim that happiness is halfway genetic in nature it means that we have a 50-50 chance of taking glee in the fun things of life again, like: walking barefeet on the grass, picking flowers from our garden, throwing a ball in a field and wanting to savor the festivals as they come without worrying about the tasks left un-done.  So, if you feel the way I do, I say, let's join hands to welcome celebrations be it now or at another time, be it Diwali or Christmas...let's just pick up where we left glee behind and grin away.  Always.

A Chocolate Delight

A chocolate lover's delight:  Devil's food cake with dark chocolate ganache and dressed in chocolate curls with cherries on top. 

Say Cheese with the Packers 2011

One of the things I love to do on my cakes is to address the occasion with subtle humor or some hidden innuendos.  I feel it makes my art a little different than what commercial stores sell and also puts a touch of customization to it.  When I received this cake order I was told that the gentleman was an avid Packers' fan and also loved cheese.  As such I couldn't resist putting down "say cheese joyjit" instead of the usual 'happy birthday'.  If you also think about it, Green Bay Packers hail from Wisconsin...is it just a mere coincidence that the place is also famous for its cheese??? Talking of coincidences...what do you say when you further learn that this year his birthday kicks off with NFL 2011!

This was a red velvet cake with two layers of dark chocolate fudge and topped with butter-cream frosting and an edible American football.  May you enjoy this NFL season to the fullest as you enjoy another year of life.

The Candyland Prince

Mellow lemon and plain white vanilla flavored cakes were stacked up to make this candy themed cake.  The white cake was tinted blue to add a layer of color inside.  Filling of choice was raspberry mousse and the frosting was butter-cream.  Chocolate coated raisins, m&m's, fondant lollipops and gumballs and an all edible crown was created to wish the little boy a very happy birthday.

Basket of Joy

There's a funny thing about chores around the house.  They 'multiply' very quickly with the 'addition' of new members in the household- be it guests or babies.  This type of math is something I haven't quite figured out yet.  It's a good thing no one ever highlights this fact to the parents of a single child.  Those of us with more than one child knows how it works.  There's double of everything in need except for laundry...somehow that explodes into quadruples or more loads.  Pray tell me how does the youngest member of the household get the say in the amount of clothes that need to be laundered?  

Parents have this notion that they are in control.  I say: "bull", there's no one in more control of a household than the youngest and most helpless member of the human family.  A tiny cry and we wake up, a smile and we swoon with delight, a whimper and we wait with baited breath for the cry to follow, a howl and we drop everything to get food ready, a small cut or bruise and we are ready to visit the ER...now this is what I call 'being in control'!  The power to twist fingers to do whatever I demand without moving a limb of my own.  Amazing.  Sarcasm aside babies are the most dear thing to all of us.  No matter how many loads of laundry they bring with them, they are all definitely baskets of joy.

A mellow lemon cake filled with raspberry mousse was the choice for this baby shower cake to enjoy the tastes of the last few days of summer.  The color of the decorations were matched to the lemon and raspberry for the berry sweet little baby girl on the way.

A Dino-mite Birthday

My baby lion turned four years old a couple days back.  Not a huge milestone in general but if you ask a mom why each year of growth appears extra special than the one before here's what you will find.  A year is not just made up of hours, days or months.  It's made of up more laughter, more hugs, new words, new gestures and new adventures amidst some new turmoils too.  Given how time flies and kids fly their nest, each year at home with a child is truly a gift of companionship.


I asked my boy what he wanted for a cake.  I truly expected him to say "don't know" like the year before.  It was a pleasant surprise when he came back with "dinosaurs, please"!  He now knows what he wants in life!  He is capable of making decisions and is showing an inkling of preference of one thing over another.  He is developing his own individuality and personality.  That in itself is incredible.  Soon the time will come when he will no longer need me to help him along and he will be his own human being: hopefully a strong and confident one at that.


As I was saying, time is a funny thing.  It never differentiates between rich or poor, young or old, black or white.  Yet it feels that time takes longer to traverse when we are sad and time travels in a flash during our happy moments.  Since we cannot do away with either in life, we need to cherish the good times and know that the bad times will soon be over.  Life is short and we have so much to do and so far to go.  Let's not waste any time pondering any more and go out and have the DINO-mite time of our lives by celebrating our family, friends, occasions and everything worth rejoicing about.


Red velvet three tiered cake with whipped cream filling and butter-cream frosting.  Fondant dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs.

My Baby Lion

The caption says it all!  This one was for my son, his very own personalized cake for his birthday.  Red velvet with butter-cream frosting and a fondant baby lion to sum up his personality: Warm, sweet and bold all in one.

Musical Notes

Music is a combination of sound waves that create a soothing and/or exhilarating sensation in our brains.  Scientifically proven to calm even the wildest animal, melodious notes set our hearts to a happy rhythm.  It is a language in itself that takes on various forms.  What is interesting to note is that regardless of the different beats and tunes music is omnipresent in all our emotions.  And when we can't find the music in our lives we lose hope and happiness.  Let's strive to maintain a balance of high and low notes in our day to day existence such that we create a wonderful and magical sound to ears all around...

A red velvet cake layered with cream cheese frosting was the calling for a piano enthusiast of 8 years.  Happy Birthday Elena! 

Dresses for Baby

A chocolate half sheet cake layered with strawberry mousse and topped with butter-cream frosting was in order for a first time mom's special baby (girl) shower celebration.  The theme, I was told was baby clothes.  

Those of us with children can attest to the learning curve we experience while trying to dress a new baby in fancy clothes in general.  For those of us moms who, I think (in hindsight), are seriously mentally challenged strive to achieve this feat around nap time, thinking it will be easier to coax the little one into one of the frilly-fairy colorful affairs.  Little do we ever prepare for the first time shock of what can only be described as war!  The only saving grace is typically the cuteness and attractiveness of the items themselves that keep moms (and sometimes dads) motivated enough to fight the battle over and over again.  Sometimes it gets to the point that we hesitate to try out any new outfit just to avoid this conflict with an otherwise helpless being.  I, for one, never got through each and every dress that was either bought or gifted to my first born for this very reason.  I never kept count on who won more number of times (baby or me) but judging by the left over brand-new-never-worn dresses I have on hand five years later the results speak loud and clear.  

Experience has made me wiser now.  When baby-events roll around, especially those for little girls, I now look for gifts that are easier to wear and comfortable gear vs. tempting attires that cause high pitched wails all around.  After all, I tell myself life comes a full circle always and the day isn't far when this same little girl will spend hours on clothes for show  than those for comfort...that's when we can take our turn to smile and know we won. For now, let's enjoy the winner of a baby who will soon become a teenager.

A Burst of Pink

A burst of pink with daisies on a half sheet cake for a girlie baby shower.

100% Princess

As I start to write this 100th blog post I am amazed at how fast and wonderful the journey has been. A journey that started just a little over a year ago is now close to it's culmination point. With the increasing demands of work, family and cakes my cup is brimming over. So, I've decided to convert some of the write-ups into a book and focus more on the social media on the internet for a while instead.  This web logging (blogging) of my thoughts about life and its several mysteries through cakes and treats has been very sweet and satisfactory. I couldn't have done it without the support from my family and friends. They say success is 99 percent perspiration and only 1 percent inspiration. In this case I think the reverse is true. I have gathered inspiration to create and write from everything and everyone around me and put in only 1% of my own hard work for the final outcomes on each cake-board.  So, a word of deep gratitude I must pen to all of you.

I've always written from my heart and the fact that some of my own thoughts reverberate with some of yours is quite amazing given that we all have different genes.  This tells me that all in all we are not much unlike each other and the basis of our genetic composition is to do good in general.   This in in turn gives me hope that it's not just a mere fantasy world where I see no war, no ill feelings and no pride or prejudice amongst people under the same sky.

Dressed in hot pink and white this was a pineapple supreme cake covered with fondant on the top layer and butter-cream on the bottom layer.  The cakes were filled with apricot/pineapple spread and banana/vanilla custard respectively.  The tiara on top was hand molded from sugar-paste and adorned with sugar pearls to wish a very happy 1st birthday to an absolutely cute princess, Lasya.  Just like a princess, may she be surrounded by wishes and dreams that come true everyday.

Red Velvet, Black Tie

The earliest memory I have of my father is that of his lullabies which consisted of the same two songs every night, one of which was his national anthem!  The next memory as I grew a little older is that of standing by the window sill waiting for him to come home from work and hand me his leftover roasted peanuts in a paper cup (which he would typically buy from the roadside vendor on his walk back from the bus stop).  From that to the day when he visited me during my graduate school days and cooked me a meal with his own hands...the memories have multiplied and changed to varying degrees over the years but there is one aspect that has not altered one bit: my love for him.

There is a special bond that daughters share with their fathers.  It's a relationship that is both the envy and pride of mothers. As little girls we look up to our father as our hero, our very own 'tall, dark and handsome' warrior.  As we grow a bit older  our vision changes and we see our fathers with admiration, love and respect.  He becomes a source of motivation and inspiration.  And finally as we step into the role of parenthood, it becomes increasingly clear how important that shoulder to sit on and the back to hang from is.  Any man can be a father but it takes a certain special touch to be a 'dad'.  Here's laying out the red carpet and a special black tie for the very best: the dads of this world.  And a special thank you and I love you to mine...


Red velvet cupcakes were dressed in dark Ghirardelli cappuccino chocolate ganache frosting with white fondant specs to celebrate this special event.  Happy Dad's Day!

The Present

I once came across a quote that read "The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."  

The words made perfect sense...and yet here I am who worries everyday about what the future will hold.  Will I be able to control it or carve it to my needs and desires?  Will I like what it has in store for me? How will I react to the misfortunes that come my way? The questions seem endless...and in pursuit of the answers I rarely enjoy the passing moment, the present.  Perhaps it is for this reason that we carry gifts or 'presents' for people on their birthdays.  It's a symbolic notion to show them that more often than not what's inside the box (our future life), yet to be unveiled, is a beautiful surprise.  The excitement with which we open our presents should reflect the anticipation and excitement in our lives to greet the future.  At times the 'box' holds things that we either do not like or did not want but eventually we get around to using the items somewhere, somehow...we should learn to do the same in life.  When we come across the not-so-desirable events in life we need to make the best out of it.  We need to find a purposeful use for it and then move on.  


I salute the people who always have a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts and know how to live in the present moment...for there is no comparison to enjoying a gift that is in hand versus one that we may never get to open and look inside.  


Saying cheers to a birthday with an edible 'present' was a mellow lemon cake with lemon custard, strawberries and  butter-cream frosting.

Birthday in the Park

 

A request for a special 'Minnie mouse and her friends' first year birthday cake for a little girl turned into some thoughtful insights on my part.  I will write about the cake in a moment, but before I do I would like to ask you to define the word "happiness".  The theme park where Minnie and her friends reside is termed as the 'happiest place on earth' or so says the marketing. 

What is 'happiness'?  The dictionary defines it as a state of well being and contentment.  'Contentment' is the key word here.  When we are content we are at peace with ourselves and find very little reason for unrest or anxiety.  However, human nature is very strange and this feeling of contentment rarely lasts a long time for most ordinary mortals.  We are always looking for 'more' in everything and this in turn makes our state of happiness a moving target.  The feeling vaporizes within a short few moments of its birth and we struggle to find it all over again.  The constant pursuit of this feeling of satisfaction thus becomes a convoluted and turbulent facet of our lives and ends up robbing us of achieving a lasting happiness.  Sometimes, we don't even know what would make us happy!


Is the degree of happiness measurable in money? I honestly don't know. Money can surely buy the kind of misery we seem to enjoy and provide us with security in life,  but it cannot predict the future or ensure that things will certainly go the way I plan it to be.  So then, how do we make happiness an inherent part of our lives?  If you've ever visited the commercial 'happy place' which started this topic you will recall that there is indeed something magical about that land that makes a heart smile and dance.  It's the feeling of love, warmth, good cheer and wellness being wished all around.  The laughter of our children and the hugs all around  leave us very content and satisfied.  And it is this feeling of satisfaction that we must learn to nurture in our everyday way of life if we are to stay happy most of the time.


The cake in question was my first half sheet cake in a plain vanilla flavor.  Filled with banana and vanilla pudding it was topped with butter-cream frosting and hand-molded sugar paste Disney characters.  Here's wishing the smiling lil' Minnie (Siyona) a very happy one-derful birthday.

Minnie Ears

Sugar cookies with sugar pearls for a very sweet girl's first birthday treat.

First Communion

I have to tread with caution on my thoughts on this blog since no one topic is more controversial than religion.  In many ways, I feel religion is as ambiguous as politics. Yet most of us are deeply rooted in one.   A First Communion is a Catholic Church ceremony that "confirms" a child to the religion so that he/she can learn the culture and its values. There are different forms of the same process amongst Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism,  Islam and the various other religions of the world.  

Religion can be viewed as a way of life, a call of faith or a medium to enforce to us that there is a Supreme Being who controls the universe.  To do good unto others, to lead a pious life and to have compassion for those less fortunate seem to be the basic teachings of all religions.  It also teaches us that victory of good over evil often comes after much pain and suffering.  Religions believe in the concept of peace and harmony for all living beings.   Yet it is this very facet of life that can draw people into war and make us act in the most heinous fashion; all in the hope of achieving 'nirvana' or freedom for our soul.  We not only practice religion in everything we do but also try to preserve it through generations.   We may preach tolerance and secularism but in our hearts we find comfort in the 'way of life' that our mothers and grandmothers have taught us.  We may go to religious  schools for education but the influence of religion in our home far surpasses those of the outside world.  And when this passion for religion takes an ugly path, it becomes what is called fanaticism. 

I now know that it is important for my children to know the religious beliefs I hold, solely not because I want them to follow the same path but more so to ensure that I stay within my comfort zone of life.  For there is no other more difficult aspect of life than embracing a religious belief that is different from the one you were engrained with.

A simple white vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting topped with a sugarpaste replica of the young boy offering his prayers symbolic of the 'last supper' rites was created to wish the family a blessed event.

Busy Bees & Happy Hearts

 Many many years ago I was taught that teachers are to be respected, revered, thanked and occasionally given a place higher than the Almighty.  The last bit confused me slightly.  How could someone hold more importance than God?  What the quotation meant was that for the fortunate few of us who get an education, teachers play a very important role in shaping our destinies.  The value of any type of education is worth its weight in gold.  But the value of an education that teaches us to balance the brain with the feelings in our hearts is priceless.  Let me elaborate what I mean here.  

Contrary to the belief, it is actually not so hard to learn the mathematics, the sciences, the arts, the social sciences, literature and other topics from books, electronic media and through practice.  What is difficult are their applications in real life towards doing our best in our professions.  What is even more difficult is being smart about how we apply it all to the work we do...and perhaps what is the most difficult task is to decide whether we act with our mind or heart when doing the work we do.  I guess that is what makes the school my daughter goes to more special to me than others.  The principal and teachers of the school actually have a way of encouraging hard work and comradery amongst students starting from a very young age.  They are awarded with what's called a Busy Bee or a Happy Heart certificate.  Busy Bee amplifies hard work and sincerity in making academic progress while a Happy Heart symbolizes acts of kindness, compassion and a cheerful demeanor.  What a concept!  To teach kids to learn the value of sometimes playing fair and at other times being a tough competitor.  I believe it takes a great combination of these two attributes for succeeding in the real world.  Even amongst the best and most witty politicians and professionals, the ones with charm and charitable intentions are celebrated long after they depart the earth, making this life-lesson a worthwhile one for each one of us to adopt.

I raise my cup-cakes to salute the teachers of yesterday, today and tomorrow with a special thanks to those who will be a significant part of our life through our children's education.  These were chocolate cupcakes filled with a dollop of chocolate ganache on the inside and covered with all fondant decorations in keeping with the theme of the Teacher's Appreciation Day this year.  For only a busy bee with wings of heart can take flight and enjoy the honey of life.  Each cupcake was individualized with the initial of the last name of each teacher to make them feel extra special.

Bubbly Baby Duck

Egg-less white cake with chocolate mousse filling and butter cream frosting.  Bubbles were made of white chocolate.

Summer Berries

Summer is close by and we are now starting to see a glimpse of sunshine every now and then in Portland.  A handful of sweet and tart fondant berries atop a butter-cream vanilla cake with banana/custard filling hold the promise of a berry happy birthday.

Mother's Day

 It took me by surprise when I first heard of Mother's Day.  One has to put a date to celebrate the most important person in everyone's life? Really?  Isn't every day a Mother's Day?  Can you think of a day in your life when you haven't wailed her name, thought of her and missed her?  The first time I learnt of this celebration was when I was over 20 years old.  That in itself told me how utterly ungrateful and unthoughtful I might have been towards the least respected, least paid job in the world. So it's no small surprise that we really need to mark one date (at the very least) on our calendars to make sure we thank and appreciate mothers for just simply: everything.  

It was almost a decade later when I realized the true significance of the position and job title. What warms my heart is that we are doing something to spread the awareness amongst our children of how precious moms are.  Then there is something to be said about the moms of this century...Despite the diversity all around the world, mothers everywhere have managed to evolve over time to doing more and more. I find it extremely humbling when my mother or mother-in-law still finds the time and patience to learn something new, do something different...

From taking a serious interest in the professional world to enhancing their participation in politics, sports, world economy and even martial arts, the moms of this era have not let motherhood stop them at all!   Today's mothers are a chef, housemaid, friend, teacher, counselor and banker all rolled in one.  They say it takes a village to raise a child...I pretty much see the whole village in the moms of today.  Despite their new and enhanced roles it's quite a blessing indeed that most of them still love to indulge in their passions for fashion, entertainment and family fun.  They are what I call true divas!

So let's raise a toast for all the moms of the world with this year's design of lemon flavored cupcakes topped with a few fashion accessories in fondant.

Grapes on (W)ines

Every year when it's time to celebrate my significant other's birthday, I hear mumblings about age and the depression that comes with aging.  So I chose grapes on vines design for his birthday cake to remind him that there are many things in life that grow dearer and more precious with age. 

Grapes are allowed to mature on their vines before they are used to make delectable wines.  The more aged a wine is, the greater is its value.  Same goes for many whole grains.  The maturity of the grains determine their value as a seed.  Maybe nature is trying to tell us something here...Look not at age as years gone by but look at it as maturity gained.  A gain that allows us to let go of the vanities of childhood or youth and embrace life more with more calm and confidence.  It helps us distinguish between the big and small things in life that really matter in the end.  Age also instills a sense of humility in us and makes us appreciate those older than us.  It teaches us to judge less, respect more and be kind to all around.  I see all these and many more great changes as the years go by and so I can't complain about my loved one growing older.  If you ask me, as the years go by I find him more attractive and more intoxicating than a glass of red wine: good for the heart and soul!

A banana/pineapple cake with butter cream frosting was the calling for this special day.

Blue Euphoria

Salutations and hearty congratulations to the men in blue.  You have proven to the world that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.  Cherish the feeling of walking on cloud blue.

Lillies for Mom

Of all the relationships that exist, the only one that is full of unconditional and uncompromising love is that of a mother.  Period.  No questions asked.  There is no one on this planet who can take her place.  Regardless of what we call her and how we call for her, it is the best balm that brings relief to all our problems.  We are symbolically attached to her at birth and although the cord is cut right after, the bond is eternal.  Our entire physical, mental, spiritual and social well being circles around her existence from birth till death. 

The thought of her soft kisses, loving hugs, caring concern, melodious songs and the aroma of her cooking can send most of us to a happy place anytime.  It is funny how the noise of her bangles from a distance that was once a sign of warning for my sister and me to scoot out of the kitchen before we got caught, has now transformed into the most comforting notion when she is around.  Despite the gripes we hold or the constant generation gap we try to bridge, the safest and best place on earth is none other than a mother's abode.  

Mothers are simply incredible.  They guide us, bless us and forgive us over and over again even as we get it all wrong.  They are selfless in their acts and have a heart larger than the universe.  They would stop at nothing to protect us and keep us from harm.  Being a mother now, I realize the significance of the sacrifices she has made for me, the importance of carrying smiles even when times are tough and the unbelievable strength that must be shown to succeed in this job.  The best way to honor a mother's debt is to carry it forward and strive to be a mom to our children and occasionally to even those who don't have one. 

Here's to mothers everywhere and wishing the two moms in my life a very happy birthday this year.  May I continue to learn from you and be worthy of the most important designation of my life.  Sugar paste lillies with granulated-sugar pollen adorn the dark chocolate brownie cake.

Papaya

The title here suggests a very wholesome fruit. Soft/sweet when ripe and crisp/tart when raw.  Full of healthy nutrients this fruit is popular in the tropics and carries a lot of medicinal properties.  This is also what a precious two year old lovingly calls her Papa.  "Papaya"!  It's a pretty common practice that we sometimes refer to our children as fruits we love...and why not.  Our children are sweet and soft.  Their laughter is the best cure for all our sorrows and they are indeed the 'apple of our eye'.  Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that children call us back in the same terms.  Every time I refered to my daughter as a pumpkin, she would grin and give me a hug with 'Momma pun-kin'!  Between my daughter and son I have in the past been a strawberry, a blueberry, a tomato and ofcourse a pun-kin.  And we can't complain much about such nomenclature when we find that an innovater like Steve Jobs named his 'baby' after his favorite fruit too!

A simple vanilla cake layered with cream cheese/butter cream frosting was the choice for this birthday cake from a daughter to her father.  A set of tennis lessons as a birthday gift from Mommy completed the cake theme.

Saffron and Gold

It has been a primitive practice to associate colors  with a significant emotion or trait. 

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. 

Brown suggests stability (earth).

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

Orange or dark saffron combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.  In the Hinduism culture it symbolizes auspiciousness.

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility.

My favorite color, blue is pretty versatile: It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence and intelligence. Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect (hence the medical suits in a hospital operating room). Dark blue is associated with depth of knowledge, expertise, power, integrity and stability; it is a preferred color for many advanced nations in the world today.  However one must avoid using blue when promoting food, because blue suppresses appetite! Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding and softness.

White stands for peace, purity and cleanliness. 

Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief. 

And the list continues... Just remember that life is full of colors and the picture each one of us paints depends on the hues and colors we choose to use.

Coming back to this brownie creation, I chose a symbol of Lord Ganesha (the God of all encompassing virtues in Hinduism) in dark saffron and gold atop a medallion coin made of white chocolate.  Gold evokes the feeling of pride and prestige. It means illumination, wisdom, and wealth and often symbolizes quality par excellence.   Our heartfelt colorful good wishes go to a wonderful couple with a new home. 

Play Ball

There are times of deep thoughts and inspirational moments and then there are times when you just have to take flight in free spirit and play ball!  This is one of those moments...Enjoy the games!

Lemon flavored cupcakes with edible balls atop butter-cream/cream cheese frosting.

Spring Sunshine

"You are my sunshine, one of my sunshines,
You make me happy when skies are gray.
I never tell you how much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away."

This was my twisted version of the sunshine song.  I sang it to my daughter every single night from the day I learnt she was on the way to when she was about three years old.  The lullabies changed over the years but not the hugs and smiles and the warmth in my heart.   A little too soon, the years crept up on me and today we celebrated her sixth birthday (albeit a few days late for convenience).  Half a dozen years later my munchkin is quite a lady now.  I see her shunning princess toys and taking to the jumprope and scooter more.  I see her preference for a swimming pool vs. the bathtub filled with water.  I also see her cry softly with her hands on her face and I know why they call these 'growing pains'.  So much change in so little time...And she is already asking about her first driving lesson!  While there is pride and joy in my heart there is a touch of sadness: if only I could have held her in my arms longer, hugged her more often and worried a little less in the years gone by.  To all my friends with young children:  don't let the small hassles get you down; enjoy the child before they fly their nest.  To my friends with not-so-little kids:  don't fret, they will always be your baby and you did raise them well. 

Live in the moment and dwell not on the past,
Look to the future but obsess not you must...
For que sera sera, whatever will be will be...
Enjoy the moments now for fleetingly gone they will be.

A few weeks before her birthday she came to me with a painting she had made.  It had a blue sky, yellow sun, few clouds, butterflies and a meadow with flowers below and asked if I could bake her a cake that captured her wish for a sunny day in spring.  I have tried in my humble capacity to mimic her bright imagination and capture the colors of joy that she brings to our hearts.  May she thrive and prosper and light up the whole galaxy in the years to come.

The Candy Express

There's definitely something to be said about the word 'candy'.  It comes in many forms and the basic notion is that it's a sweet treat.  It's both the solution and the root cause for much of our troubles in life.  We take solace in some form of candy when the day is going bad.  We celebrate with it for our life events and even offer it to the Gods as a bribe.  Then we pay the dentist, the doctor and the gym a visit to undo the damage brought on by excess amounts of it.  We admonish our children from eating it while secretly popping a few from our hidden stack.  We have festivals that are centered around candy (Valentines Day, Halloween, Diwali, etc).  We have stories that stem from houses made of candy (Hansel and Gretel) all the way to the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!  The versatility of candy is endless.  And, if you didn't know that it could also be an abstract adjective used to describe attractiveness, then look up the term 'eye-candy'.  Cheers to all of you for spreading a little sweetness around...

The request for the birthday party was a train cake.  Judging by the expression I had seen on my daughter's face the first time she learnt about Trick or Treat, I assumed that it would be hard to go wrong with candy where children are concerned.  So the request was met with the candy express above.  A mellow lemon cake frosted with soft whipped butter/cream cheese combination was the theme for little Advait's second birthday.  I hope Advait has a "terribly sweet TWOoth"!

Squiggles

I have to say that I was not looking forward to this cake initially.  I was asked to create a chocolate cake layered with chocolate ganache and covered in soft whipped cream for an engineer.  I was also notified that Jasha is a gentleman and would definitely not care much about one of my pink roses on his cake!  For those of you who are familiar with soft whipped cream will know how challenging this seemingly simple request was.  I had not one but two problems: first, decorating with soft whipped cream and second, no pink roses...or any flowers for that matter.  So I focused on the only aspect left in this 'equation': engineer.  The one thing I know from my days in engineering school is that we love squiggles, the greek alphabets and anything with lines and curves.

Thus was born my version of a geeky but manly (enough) cake which should not be judged by its soft cover. I know that a combination of gooey chocolate with airy-soft creamy cloud can put someone in a 'top of the world' mood and I hope that that's how Jasha felt.

A Pot of Spring

Unbelievably, March is here again! That means we prepare to celebrate the onset of spring. It’s a time for new leaves to sprout back on those bare trees and a burst of color to fill our yards. To me spring symbolizes more than flowers and leaves. It reminds me that the time of hibernation is over. The cold winter months are soon going to come to an end and all of us need to get a jump start on the rest of the year ahead. New ideas, new projects and new explorations await us.  Celebrations with green beer and sun bathing on warm beaches are all part of March.  But before you pick up the mug or take off to warmer weather during spring break, make a promise to yourself this year: to spring forward, do your best and complain less. You cannot predict the outcome of the task at hand but you can control the process and technique required to do it. So focus on that for a change...Take up a new hobby, a new pleasure and indulge in it.  Whatever you do, do it from your heart and you will see the rainbow with a pot of gold at the end.

And talking of spring's bounty, it's also a time to look forward to warm weather.  There is one other thing that brings us warmth besides the summer sun: a good friend.  There is a certain sense of comfort that is forthcoming with them and just like spring they make us look forward to their company.   Here's wishing one such friend (who has a heart larger than life) a very happy birthday.  I wish her next year blossoms like the fresh new leaves and flowers in this pot of spring foliage (chocolate cake with shades of purple royal icing flowers).

Chic and Sweet

The math behind statistics calculates the probability of two people having the same birthday in a group of only 23 at greater than 50%.  It's been several years since I actually did probability calculations in my statistics class, but I would think it safe to assume that the probability in this case would be lower when the group is smaller.  Reality doesn't mimic possibilities for sure based on my experience recently.   A dinner party with a group of only 12 guests turned out to be a double celebration.  A few days before the evening of the party I learnt that two of the guests had the same birthday!  I am not a person who believes in coincidences but this one took me by surprise.   This is the second time in my life where I have seen same birthdays in small groups of people I know.  (Needless to say it helps a great deal to remember them for sure). 

This also tells me that we have a good chance at beating the odds  even when the numbers indicate otherwise.  This is very reassuring to know especially if hope is all we have left.  So we must continue to think positively despite the lower chances of world peace, battling illnesses and  surviving the impossible.  The power of positive thinking can at times surpass all mathematical predictions unless you are trying to pass your school grades without studying...that would be termed a miracle.

I baked each of them a personal sized chocolate cake with layers of dark chocolate ganache with the hope of making them feel extra special.