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The 73rd Circle Time: The Show and Tell Weekly Thread

Show and Tell is wasted on elementary schoolers. Join several dozen bloggers weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0. Everyone is welcome to join, even if you have never posted before and just found out about Show and Tell for the first time today. So yank out a photo of the worst bridesmaid’s dress you ever wore and tell us the story; show off the homemade soup you cooked last night; or tell us all about the scarf you made for your first knitting project. Details on how to participate are located at the bottom of this post.

Let’s begin.

At the risk of being stunningly immodest, I would like to declare myself Queen of the Cake. I googled the term “sukkah cake” and “succah cake” and finding only these hits and none of them linking to a project quite like this, I would like to state here and for the record that I AM THE INVENTOR OF THE SUCCAH CAKE.  THE SUKKAH CAKE.  ME.  ME.  ME.

Um…

Well, I thought it was a cool idea.  Because mine doesn’t just look like a sukkah; mine actually follows most of the rules of constructing a sukkah (except with edible items instead of wood and leaves) and a little playmobil character can go inside and shake his lulav.  The only other cakes I could find were either a solid rectangular cake that someone had decorated with icing to look like a sukkah (rather than making a hollow, enter-able, edible house) or the Jewish equivalent to a gingerbread house, with cookie-walls and royal icing creating a structure that co-ops Christian tradition as if Jews are not creative and kick-ass on our own.

Because we are.  And we don’t need no stinkin’ gingerbread because I have invented the sukkah cake.

And I’m sure that people will respond to this post and say, “My Aunt Rivke makes a cake just like that”–but the point is that your Aunt Rivke apparently doesn’t post to the Internet and we all know in the world of peeing on your territory that having a permalink to the idea trumps Aunt Rivke’s extended family knowing about her baking prowess.  So sucks to your Aunt Rivke.

I made this one for Josh’s office with yellow cake and vanilla icing.  I am currently typing out instructions (after many engineering mishaps) on the actual construction of the sukkah cake because while it can be made with just about any flavour cake or icing, the actual work is in the carving of the cake, tweaks you need to make to the cookie roof, and the order of construction.  I learned the hard way that doing things in the wrong order results in cake collapse.

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I strung up jelly beans with thread and a needle to serve as the fruit inside the sukkah.

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Hanging fruit…

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I made some leaves out of icing on the roof to cover up the excess cake needed to support the weight of the roof.

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And then I covered the roof in mint leaves to serve as the s’chach.

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And let the twins go to town on the sides as you would a gingerbread house at Christmas.  Except that gingerbread doesn’t taste very good and my cake rocks.

It is the art project that keeps giving, with the cake discarded in the carving of the structure capable of being turned into smaller and smaller sukkahs.  Next stop: figuring out how to ship said sukkah cake in one piece…

What are you showing today?

Click here or scroll down to the bottom of this post if this is your first time joining along (Important: link to the permalink for the post, not the main url for your blog and use your blog’s name, not your name. Links not going to a Show and Tell post will be deleted). The list is open from now until late Friday night and a new one is posted every week.

Other People Standing at the Head of the Class:

Want to bring something to Show and Tell?
  • If you would like to join circle time and show something to the class, simply post each Wednesday night (or any time between Wednesday morning and Friday night), hopefully including a picture if possible, and telling us about your item. It can be anything–a photo from a trip, a picture of the dress you bought this week, a random image from an old yearbook showing a person you miss. It doesn’t need to contain a picture if you can’t get a picture–you can simply tell a story about a single item. The list opens every Wednesday night and closes on Friday night.
  • You must mention Show and Tell and include a link back to this post in your post so people can find the rest of the class. This spreads new readership around through the list. This is now required.
  • Label your post “Show and Tell” each week and then come back here and add the permalink for the post via the Mr. Linky feature (not your blog’s main url–use the permalink for your specific Show and Tell post).
  • Oh, and then the point is that you click through all of your classmates and see what they are showing this week. And everyone loves a good “ooooh” and “aaaah” and to be queen (or king) of the playground for five minutes so leave them a comment if you can.
  • Did you post a link and now it’s missing?: I reserve the right to delete any links that are not leading to a Show and Tell post or are the blogging equivalent of a spitball.

35 comments

1 karlinda { 10.07.09 at 7:31 pm }

That’s so cool. I’d never heard of a sukkah before, but I’m impressed you managed to build one out of cake.

2 Rachel { 10.07.09 at 7:43 pm }

I too have never heard of sukkah. But, I am amazed with your work! How long did it take you to finish? Seeing you workmakes me want to go bake. Sadly, I only know how to make brownies. I need to work on my baking skills! Thank you for sharing!

3 tash { 10.07.09 at 8:13 pm }

Hilarious, delicious, and original. I say we start a wiki page for this.

4 cara { 10.07.09 at 8:16 pm }

I know you drink coffee, lots of it – but I just can’t figure where you find the time to do all this. You know, the writing, parenting, goddessing of the blogosphere and all – and now this??

Jeez…you are putting us fairly-adept multitaskers at a BIG disadvantage here.

5 caitsmom { 10.07.09 at 8:23 pm }

Lovely. And doing anything in the “wrong” order leads to collapse! Here’s to getting things in the right sequence. : )

6 HereWeGoAJen { 10.07.09 at 8:28 pm }

Yum! I totally agree that gingerbread isn’t very good.

7 Quiet Dreams { 10.07.09 at 8:43 pm }

OMG, your cake does rock. I love every part of it, but especially the s’chach, which often is the most difficult part of the sukkah (life size). I would love a life size version of the cake sukkah, but it probably wouldn’t last the week.

I have a crush on your cake.

8 Jendeis { 10.07.09 at 8:44 pm }

I am so f–king impressed. You are the Queen!

9 Kristin { 10.07.09 at 9:16 pm }

See, I knew I had it right when I called you the goddess of the ALI blogosphere. Very cool cake.

10 LJ { 10.07.09 at 9:31 pm }

That’s a freaking awesome cake!

11 a { 10.07.09 at 10:02 pm }

I have no idea what the story is behind the cake, but it looks tasty! Because I like icing, I would frost the inside of the structure too, but that’s just me.

12 Shadowedge { 10.07.09 at 10:03 pm }

I was totally inspired by your sukkah cake, and posted my very first show and tell on my own blog about a cake I made.

I really like the idea of the show and tell you have going on, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it.

13 Io { 10.07.09 at 10:12 pm }

That looks *way* better than the stale gingerbread houses I used to make with my girlscout troop.

14 once a mother { 10.07.09 at 10:21 pm }

Sucks to your Aunt Rivke indeed! That looks delicious… I wouldn’t need to figure out how to ship or transport the cake, it would never make it off that counter without being eaten. Yum.

15 Lin { 10.08.09 at 12:12 am }

Wow…that’s awesome! I’m equally impressed at the perfect gum drop lines and the structure itself. Very cool!

16 Baby, Interrupted { 10.08.09 at 1:21 am }

My first show and tell…which hopefully I have not completely screwed up. I love the cake!

17 Sunshine85 { 10.08.09 at 2:29 am }

Totally cool and amazing cake! Had to call DH over to check it out too. I am totally awed and might even copy you next year (if I have the patience.)

18 Rebecca { 10.08.09 at 2:44 am }

I heart your Sukkah cake! Mint leaves are genius and the best part is that it can’t get rained out! Truly inspired.

19 Hevel { 10.08.09 at 4:27 am }

Succah cake! A real one! That looks pretty much like the succah at the courtyard!

20 Half of a Duo, Raising a Duo { 10.08.09 at 7:32 am }

http://micrimas.blogspot.com/2009/10/manner-of-speaking-when-they-talk-i.html

I am drooling at the cake. Yummers.

Since you are the first you need to stick your cake and the reference on Wiki!!!! Why not? Inventee of the Sukkah cake! Yeah!

21 Delenn { 10.08.09 at 8:41 am }

That is an incredible cake! I am lucky to make a cake that is not lopsided! Kudos to you!

22 jill { 10.08.09 at 9:01 am }

Whoa that’s awesome! Very creative 🙂

And! today I learned what a sukkah is! hehe

23 Lynn { 10.08.09 at 10:57 am }

That sukkah cake looks incredibly tasty! I also am unfamiliar with the significance behind it, but you did a fantastic job on the cake!

24 Kate (Bee In The Bonnet) { 10.08.09 at 12:03 pm }

Behold, her Majesty, creator of the Sukkah cake! That is one awesomely creative cake. I love the lattice-ish cookie roof, and the inspired use of iced leaves to cover the extra cake. Way to go, C and W with the application of sprinkles and M&Ms to decorate the outside. Adorable AND delicious!

However… I may have to take small issue with derision of gingerbread. While the gingerbread used to make stupid gingerbread houses is nasty, I am currently obsessed with replicating Whole Foods molasses ginger cookies right now. They are perfectly chewy and a little sharp from the ginger, and they have little crystals of raw sugar on top, and OH BOY, are they good. Oh, and actual gingerbread cake is really good, too, especially with a big fat lump of butter spread over it. Or maybe a lemon glaze. Or cinnamon whipped cream. Um, yeah. Apparently, I’m going to go and bake today…

25 Billy { 10.08.09 at 1:56 pm }

Wow, a succah cake! You are original!! And the cake looks amazing!

26 flmgodog { 10.08.09 at 2:24 pm }

Mel-
Your Sukkah cake rocks!!!! I am so impressed! I may have to try this next year. Of course it will be “Mel’s Sukkah” cake that we try.

27 Another Dreamer { 10.08.09 at 3:31 pm }

That. is. freaking. AWESOME!

28 Lavender Luz { 10.08.09 at 9:38 pm }

Darn my Aunt Rivke! If only she’d peed on her territory.

You never cease to amaze me. Well, except for the whole penny-whistle thing.

29 Rachel { 10.08.09 at 10:10 pm }

Starting new traditions is always a treat. Especially when it is a treat.

30 mrs spock { 10.09.09 at 7:36 pm }

I’ve never heard of it either but it looks pretty good. Gingerbread houses always taste revolting to me. Stale and icky. Have you ever made Schnecken?

31 Battynurse { 10.11.09 at 2:01 am }

That is really cool! Looks very yummy too. I love frosting.

32 Caroline { 10.11.09 at 1:22 pm }

I’m sure many of you are like me and one of the first things you do in the morning is head here and check out the new post. Along with seeing the new posts, I’m also always checking out the blog roll rss feed and watching them grow, or shrink sometimes. In one of my past …but all in all excellent site. Keep it up!

33 Baby Smiling { 10.14.09 at 10:06 am }

I cannot express how awesome that is.

Personally instead of jelly beans, I would have used those little jelly raspberries and blackberries to more closely approximate fruit, because I am a literal person.

As you know, I am also a person who has never been inside a sukkah. I’m getting into yours first!

34 Elana Kahn { 10.19.09 at 11:23 am }

That sukkah cake looks deeeeeeeelish! I wish we could make one out of cake and icing and sit in it. mmmmmm Almost like a gingerbread house except Jewish. 🙂

Here from Blogger Bingo (a post that includes words from a non-English language).

35 ilana { 10.08.11 at 8:19 pm }

Love the cake!! Would love to imitate. Any chance the instructions are ready for your viewers?

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