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Clara’s Wintercake

Posted on November 13, 2019

I met Clara a few years ago, when I visited the Juneau Public Library, in Alaska. Recently, she sent me photos of this SPECTACULAR cake that she made, which she says is “another kind of Wintercake.” I’ll say!

Clara donated her cake to the homeless shelter in Juneau. I don’t have specific instructions, but if you are so inclined, you can probably look at these photos and figure it out. She started with a plan, always a good idea: Cake type would be up to you. Clara’s was a carrot cake, made with carrots harvested by 2-year-old Olivia, who then helped further by staying out of the way. The frosting contained cream cheese. I believe this next photo shows Clara using a rolling pin to crumble cookies, inside a plastic bag. These become the ashes of the merry fire: Next, we see 2 photos. Apparently, she melted crumbled candy in the oven. I am not sure what kind of candy it is, but after it is melted, and then cools, it is translucent, and can be broken into flame-shapes! Here is Clara assembling her cake. I’m not positive, but it looks to me as if she used those Pirouline cookies, which you can find at the grocery store, for logs. Notice the battery-operated votive in the center. And see how wonderful it looks when she lights it up! I think this is the most amazing cake I have ever seen. Thank you, Clara, for sending me the photos!

Categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: advanced wintercake, bonfire wintercake

wintercake around a merry fire

Posted on November 13, 2019

In Wintercake, Thomas and Lucy and Tobin become friends while telling stories around a merry fire. What could be better on a winter’s night?

“There’s wintercake,” says Thomas, “There’s light, there’s you and there’s us. What more do we need?”

They are, of course, in a bare hollow, during a snowstorm. It’s not a good idea, in most cases, to build a bonfire in your home. And never, without the assistance and supervision of a grownup.

A grownup might also be helpful in making this little craft, which I find to be almost as cheery as a bonfire.It’s not hard at all, except for waiting for glue and paint to dry between steps. All you need is a small glass or votive holder, some tissue scraps, matte medium/decoupage stuff/or glue, glue, a little bit of acrylic paint, sand, pebbles, twigs and a votive candle, real or battery-operated. Here’s how:You will need a small glass candleholder, or just a small glass. Mine is just a small glass, so I used a battery-operated votive candle. I thought a real votive might make the glass explode, which would not be good. Cut up some pieces of red, orange,yellow, maybe even pink tissue paper into shapes like this. Flame shapes. Put them on your glass/votive holder. I brushed matte medium onto my glass, then more matte medium on top of the tissue. Matte medium is available at craft or art supply stores. I think you could also use decoupage stuff, maybe even clear all-purpose glue. Now find an old CD or DVD. MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE LIKES IT OR WANTS IT!!!!!! Because you are going to: paint it brown or gray. While it’s drying, collect some little stones. I found mine in our driveway, which is gravel. But little stones are practically anywhere. It’s important to make sure that your votive will fit inside your circle of stones. My first batch, left, was too big, so I had to start over. Once you have the right size, glue them to the outside edge of your painted CD. After the glue dries,

paint the painted CD with more glue, and sprinkle sand onto it. THIS STEP IS OPTIONAL, but I think it looks nice. Set your votive, with its tissue flames, in the middle of the CD. And for an authentic touch, gather some twigs:

and place them around the votive, like so: Ta-da! There you have it, a lovely little bonfire of your own.

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wintercake baskets

Posted on November 3, 2019

In my picture book, Wintercake, Thomas and Lucy bake a cake and carry it, despite obstacles and difficulties and great distances, to thank the stranger who found and returned Thomas’s basket of dried-up fruits.

The three creatures share the cake, and stories, and become good friends.

But we don’t have to travel great distances to share baked treats and stories. We can take cakes and cookies to our friends and loved ones and neighbors. Some of them might invite us in for conversations. If no one is at home, we can leave our gifts hanging from the door knob with a note: Happy Winter’s Eve! It’s a little bit like the tradition of delivering paper May baskets with flowers. Only it’s wintry.

Here are some ways to do it:

The baked treat can certainly be a Wintercake. (The recipe is on the back of the book under the paper dust jacket.)

But it could also be snowflake cookies:

Or it could be round cookies, with bits of dried-up fruit (apricots! cranberries!) stirred into the dough, and white icing “like snow on a lumpy hillside.” I found some tiny bottle-brush trees at the craft store to set in the middle of some of them. Not necessary, but fun.

I also decorated some small twigs with icing and sugar:

Snowball cookies would also be a good idea. (I haven’t made some yet, so no pic)

I wanted to find a way to deliver my treats that wasn’t plastic-y. I found some choices at my local food-service-product distributor, including:

Chinese take-out containers
Recyclable/compostable cardboard soup bowls
Cardboard take-out soup bowls, with lids

For the soup containers, just punch holes in opposite sides and thread a pipe cleaner or ribbon or string through the holes. Voila!

If you like, cut out a paper snowflake and attach that, too.

Be sure to sign your Happy Winter note, so they know it’s from a friend.

Categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: winter cookies, Wintercake, Wintercake activities, Wintercake baskets