Sunday Sweets: Hanukkah Blues

Given that Hanukkah is traditionally celebrated with foods fried in oil, it's no wonder that Hanukkah cakes aren't terribly common. However, in honor of the occasion I've hunted down the best I could find, and then threw in some gorgeous wintry wonders, too.

Let's start with one of the best: a gorgeous hand-painted design by Dahlia's Custom Cakes:

WOW. Clean, modern, and vibrant. Love it.

I've given Wilton some good-natured grief before, but I've gotta hand it to them: this Hanukkah kids' cake is adorable!

Full instructions on how to make it yourself on the Wilton site here.

Some beautifully detailed cookies:

Made by Cookie Crumbs

And believe it or not, this menorah is actually made of royal icing:

By Cake Central member bankruptbaker

I know: I can hardly believe it, either! Just amazing.

That's the extent of the Hanukkah-specific Sweets I was able to find, but while searching I also found these fabulous winter-themed treats:

By Melissa of My Cake School

That snowman topper made me squee like a little girl. Or a very big geek. One of the two, anyway.

I am in awe of Dimitrana's skill. Not only are her cakes gorgeous on the outside:

Even the reindeer is handmade!

...her cakes are just as impressive inside:

Those are vertical cake layers, kids. I have no idea how she did it, but she claims instructions are somewhere on her blog. (And while you're there, check out her amazing acorn cookies!)

I'm loving this swirly snowflake topper:

By For The Love of Cake

Such a neat design: you can almost hear the wind whipping through the snow flurries.

And check out the sculpting on this one:

By Cakes By Roselyn

Ah, this restores my faith in the airbrush, right here. Beautiful.

A bit more subtle on the winter theme, but this piping work blows me away:

By Martha Stewart Weddings

If only I had hands that steady. And talent that...uh...talented.

Ok, and just one more from Dimitrana, because I can't help myself:

A cake candle! How cool is that?

And once again, there's a surprise inside: it's a giant jelly roll.

Well, once again, Happy Hanukkah, everyone! (Oh, and if you bakers could see your way to making more Hanukkah cakes, that'd really help me out. Yeeeeah. Thanks.)

Have a Sweet to nominate? Then send it to Sunday Sweet [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.

Comments

[Anonymous]

The candle cake is cool - but all I'm seeing is the snowflakes along the side... Did a ninja snowman chuck them at the cake? What made him so angry? Was it the fire on top?

[Jacqui]

WOW! OMggggg those winter theme cakes are A-MAZING.....I want one so bad! Although what on earth would you celebrate with a winter cake??

[Arlene]

Holy cow those are all so gorgeous! I wouldn't even dare cut into those I would just sit and stare much as I am doing lol.

[Susan: My Food Obsession]

WOW, there are some really talented people out there!

[laura]

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=bg&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdimitranas.blogspot.com%2F&anno=2

[Leah_the_Nosher]

1. Jen - thank you for doing Chanukah cakes. After scouring the supermarkets and box stores for Chanukah paraphernalia that includes more than the end of a shelf and three nearly sold out items, it is a relief to see some gorgeous stuff.

2. Can't believe I'm weighing in on the halachah (Jewish law), but here goes:

a) You eat only unleavened foods on Pesach aka Passover. Some of the best cakes are made during this time, from pavlovas to sponges to baked alaska. So shove over on that one and enjoy the fried Chanukah deliciousness.

b) It is a hey and not a chet. They outlined the top of the bottom leg in perfectly piped royal icing. Or stencil. Or who cares. It's gorgeous.

c) Jews keep kosher on one level or another throughout the denominations. :Raises hand:--> Reform Jew who keeps kosher.

d) Challah is especially made for Shabbat (the Sabbath), but is served at other celebration times, as well (the New Year, weddings, etc). If anyone's interested in a recipe, I've got nine up on my blog at the moment.

e) Speaking of which, Jen, my tag line is "Share and Enjoy." If you know the reference I will officially squee. Just sayin.

[Trevor]

LOL Well, these are all great, but I see that people are really getting a lot of use out of PME's snowflake plunger cutters!

[ania]

Dimitrana's creations are amazing! Thanks for the link to her site.

[Anonymous]

Hanukkah has nothing to do with leavening. That is Passover. However, the traditional food are fried in oil which is why cakes are not a big thing.

[lori]

While your photos of/comments about awful cakes & cookies are guaranteed to make me laugh out loud, even when I'm feeling very blue, I have to commend you for also showing us incredibly beautiful works of confectionary.

The Hanukkah cakes & cookies you posted today were absolutely delightful!

Thank you so much for making me smile each & every time I go to your blog!

Oh, and Happy Hanukkah!

Lori

[elsangel]

hm..look delicious cakes..

[Audrey]

"Given that Hanukkah is traditionally celebrated with foods fried in oil"

I just happen to be curious... Doesn't "frying" always imply oil?

[Diane {Hershey, PA Photography]

No matter what the occasion, those cakes are beautiful! Sundays are my favorite days to check out your blog....so many truly cool creations!!

[FancyFingers]

Aw, I want to make those acorn cookies, but I can't make heads or tails of the translation. I wonder if someone could post a coherent recipe... "solid oil?"
Chandra

[Len]

Would fellow CW readers be aware of other's comments before posting their own? pleasie pleasie pleeease? Some are witty and fun and I always try to read them all but all those Epcots keep in the way.. :(

We're here for the fun; if we wanted a lecture we would be in College instead.

I'm sorry / end of rant.

[Aliza]

Thank you for the stunning Hanukkah cakes and winter cakes. It reminds me of how lovely winter is Or would be, if it werer *warmer*! (the skiing snowman, or Nellie's wee snow-family, and the Martha Stewart cake -- nice.)

@Herouth-- I was wondering if anyone else noticed that misspelling on the cookies. And thanks for explaining the origins of hannukiot-- I thought menorah was incorrect, too. The things one learns from reading Cake Wrecks comments :)

@Jaqui-- I can think of two things to celebrate with a winter cake. (1) my birthday, and (2) the 80 cm of snow that thwomped down on parts of my province did NOT hit my city, so I haven't had to shovel yet (pause for happy dance). (For the Americans reading, that's 4" shy of three feet. In two days. Yes, that broke a record.)

BTW, if people want to see another Hannukah related error that, since it doesn't involve cake, can't be submitted to CW but CW fans will find amusing-- check out what one New York deli used as a promotional item for Hannukah: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2007/12/06/2007-12-06_balduccis_offers_ham_for_chanukah.html

[=0)jessica]

yay, bring on the Festivus cakes!

[Dimitrana S.]

Oooh.. Wow! What a great surprise!

To find my cakes here really is a big compliment for me!
I´m so happy, that you liked my cakes! Thank you very much!

Best wishes & :-)))

[Devorah]

These cakes are amazing!

[Becca]

Does anybody have any idea how to make the sweet acorns there's a link to? The google translation isn't particularly helpful ('Eggs are beaten with sugar and vanilievata pinch of salt foam. Sift the flour, add beaten with powdered sugar butter...'). I've tried searching for them on the internet, but no luck so far (I even tried in bulgarian, but that was even trickier than i thought it would be).

I could probably work it out from the blog, but I'd like to make them as xmas gifts, and it would just be so much easier if someone knew how to do it already!

[Becky Dawn]

Here's a link to the directions for the vertical layers (I'm sorry for how long it is.); just scroll down and you'll see what looks like a tree stump:

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=bg%7Cen&u=http://dimitranas.blogspot.com/search/label/%25D0%25A2%25D0%25BE%25D1%2580%25D1%2582%25D0%25B8%2520%25D0%25BF%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B7%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D1%2587%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%2520-%2520Feierliche%2520Torten%2520I&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1&client=tmpg&usg=ALkJrhiy8Jjh8dgGj8UwkiT_s9dKPUywCQ