A Towering Carnival Cake and Custom Crafted Candy for Gonzo's 1st Birthday

The carnival and circus themed cake and mini cupcakes.

It made me giddy-happy. Like a star-struck fan I stood there in front of this awesome carnival-themed cake at Gonzo Diaz's first birthday party.  Like going to an actual carnival itself, this cake got me really excited.   It was a mechanical wonder, with many spinning elements: a ferris wheel, a clown, a seal on its round pedestal with a ball balancing on its nose - a beautiful carousel, front and center, and a circus tent on top! All these rotated, round and round, adding yet another dimension to an already multi-dimensional cake. It had height, and depth, color and movement,  there were animal-shaped cookies on sticks, coated with sugar icing, planted on layers of cake at various heights.  

The circus and carnival inspired cupcake toppers and cake trimmings.

The cake is every bit the embodiment of the actual party.  The venue was transformed into a tent, and there were food carts serving pop corn, and cotton candy, a carousel was set up for the kids and a jester milled about. These fun elements were recreated in sugar, and chocolate, crowning dozens of colorfully iced mini cupcakes.  I loved the color combinations, the rich hues of primary and secondary colors. Countless stars and discs, and other festive figures serves as fun trimmings.  The cake was so huge I couldn't even count how many layers there were.  

The finely-crafted spinning carousel

It was truly a "feel-good" cake.  It reminded me of the London Circus that came to town in 1984. I was seven, and my dad took me to Cubao, outside Araneta Coliseum, where a huge tent was pitched.  It was a father-daughter date, just him and me, my first time to see a circus, a spectacular night I never forgot. The carousel also reminded me of Paris, when we did our family's treasured first trip to Europe.  I remember the carousel at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, which was rivaled in grandeur by the one on the way to Sacre Coeur at Montmartre. Carousels are simply magical. This cake made me marvel at its intricacy, and gush at its cuteness, and it made me very happy.

Narra, distracted by the attractive cupcakes.

Narra, too, was enthralled.  I caught her inspecting the cake table studiously, many times throughout the party.  She'd play a bit, run around, then come back, and stare some more.  I told her to wait until the celebrant had blown his birthday candle, before getting a cupcake. As she waited, there were many other party food stuff to keep her occupied.  There was a cotton candy machine, and pop-corn cart, an ice cream station, hotdog stand, and a Candy Corner shop which had a fun selection of gummy treats.  There were also mini burgers, chicken lollipops, spaghetti, and assorted pastries.

Food carts outdoors: cotton candy, popcorn, hotdogs, and ice cream carts.

For the adults, there were added meat treats from two carving stations offering savory fiesta dishes for adult palettes: there was an entire roasted calf, with a roast suckling pig right next to it.  The meat trimmed off them were served with yummy sauces. A plateful of meat coupled with a fine selection of local and foreign beers made the adults very, very, very happy.  And on the tables, lay jars of candy, as take-home gifts for all guests. 

Sweets at our table: roasted calf, good old Stella, and custom crafted candy giveaways.

And it wasn't just any candy in the jars.   It was custom-crafted stuff, with the name of the celebrant spelled out, that is, rolled into the hard candy as it was made by hand. Wow. Its my first time to see this. I still can't imagine how the candy-makers managed to fold the letters G-O-N-Z-O into the cylinders of sugar.  Working with sugar is no simple matter - it requires much skill to figure out the right temperature at which to pull, twist, and fold patterns into long ropes of syrup handled expertly as the sugar mixture cools and hardens.  Without seeing how it was made, I marveled at the art and science behind the making of these customized sweets.  Talk about having a conversation piece!  The people at our table deliberated on the possible methods employed to achieve this feat. One can learn something new at every party :-D  

The custom-crafted candy with the celebrant's name rolled in. 

Too bad I didn't get to find out who made the cake, so I can't give credit to whoever made it, though I would want to congratulate them on their fabulous creation. As for the custom-crafted candy, the jar we took home had a tag with the contact info: Twisted Candy (0932-87CANDY).

Related post:

Gonzo's Carnival-Themed Party and What Makes a Grand Party Great Fun!

http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2012/07/gonzos-carnival-themed-party-and-what.html