Spoiling Students

So my friends the graduate students have invited me to a birthday party tonight (Happy Birthday Ivy!). My contribution? My shining smile.

Oh, and the cake.

Normally a birthday cake is no big deal, but try finding a 3 layer chocolate cake in a city where flat fruit tarts rule supreme. So here's my attempt at a cake decorated with all of the love I could muster up at 11:30 last night and a piece of wax paper I found on my shelf.

Cake decorating tools needed!

And because the decorating couldn't stop there, there are cupcakes to go up alongside. Ivy originally told me 20 people were coming. Twenty turned to 30 and then I realized that my dinker cake would not be enough. So naturally I made cupcakes. Four kinds. Pistachio; date and almond; lemon; and a floral bouquet cake with hints of rose, jasmine, and violet (it was all included in the tea bag that I used). What marvels...