2/14/13
I've heard of TURTLE CANDY and TURTLE SOUP, but...
I've never heard of a turtle cake. I do wonder how this came about. Did the family have a pet turtle that was being celebrated? Did it come to the party? Is there a photo somewhere of it wearing a party hat and noise maker?
I had a friend that had a pet tortoise. He was very large and would often disappear for weeks at a time. He would somehow make it across the road, through a neighbor's yard, and apparently down to the creek. Most likely the creek was his vacation time. The rest of the time he spent walking from one side of my friend's backyard to the other. I was never really sure why they had a tortoise, but I felt sorry for him. Suburbia did not seem to suit him. Eventually they moved away. I'm assuming the tortoise went with them.
I also recall a friend having a tiny turtle that lived in one of those horrible plastic dishes with the plastic palm tree in the middle; a pointless tree if ever there was one. I felt really really sorry for that little creature. The boredom of that plastic dish with the tree that provided no shade must have been unbearable. It didn't last long; how could it? I imagine these wee creatures are still sold today and somewhere a kid has a plastic dish with a plastic tree with a bored out of its mind turtle in the middle.
This photo comes from the Three Buck Big Box of Photos which has been an inspiration for many years.
And if you're in a cake sort of mood (and frankly who isn't?) take a look at the great site called Cake Wrecks. Think of it as the Awkward Family Photo site for cakes. You'll be amazed by how truly ugly some of the cakes are that are made by commercial bakers (Safeway for one). The site also includes the polar opposite with some of the most beautiful cakes you've ever seen. I keep the site bookmarked so when I'm in need of a snarky giggle I know immediately where to go.
This entire post was inspired by this weeks Sepia Saturday post.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I love cake wrecks and have made several myself! The face of the child in the middle says it all!
ReplyDeleteI had one of those tiny turtles, but it didn't have a tree. It didn't last long.
ReplyDeleteHow I would react when I was given a cake with the puzzling text "Help"? Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteFor some reason or another your photo reminded me that one of our sons had a terrapin in a tank in his bedroom; it didn't last long either!
ReplyDeleteI've sent a link to my sister, another former owner of a bored out of its mind turtle. I guess those turtles committed suicide to avoid the boredom.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, are those Oreos for feet on the turtle cake?
I think they might be Oreos, a great cookie for sure. Do you unscrew them and eat the three parts or eat it all as one?
DeleteThat photo is so perfect for this week's theme. Why a turtle cake? We will always have to wonder.
ReplyDeleteand thanks for introducing me to Cake Wrecks. What a hilarious site. I will bookmark it and use it to cheer me up on those funky kind of days when you just need a wreck of a cake to laugh at.
Nancy
The cake is really ugly to be sure. Some poor Mom probably struggled mightily trying to make it look turtle-like. Thanks for the Cake Wrecks site tip...very funny.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, turtles - and tortoises, for that matter - belong in the wild, except when they're about to be eaten. I have to admit that I've eaten turtle meat (in my obviously mis-spent youth), but don't think I would nowadays, knowing how endangered they are.
ReplyDeleteI imagine his mother saying, "What kind of cake do you want, Chuck?" and Chuck's immediate reply being, "A turtle ... of course!"
I was eating a bowl of soup on Maui many many years ago and asked what I was eating, which was very tasty. When they told me it was turtle soup I thought they were joking. When they finally convinced me it was I pushed it away and sat there thinking I'd committed a huge crime.
DeleteMy mum made some great theme cakes for us three. I'm off to find the photos.
ReplyDeleteThe elder of my two brothers once had terrapins in a tank. When the little brother fed them with plasticine they didn't last very long either.
ReplyDeleteThe "Three Buck Big Box of Photos" should be renamed the "Three Buck Big Box of Smiles and Memories"
ReplyDeleteWe used to have turtle races...we each had a turtle (one of those inexpensive Woolworth's turtles); we'd line 'em up at the edge of the table and race them to the other edge; my mother would scoop them up and return them to their tank when we raced out the door to catch the schoolbus!
ReplyDeleteThat's very funny, and the Cake Wrecks site is one to bookmark for sure. I guess the shape of the turtle does lend itself to being made into a cake with a round cake tin. No tedious cutting and carving required.
ReplyDeleteJane Asher makes a very different looking turtle cake in this link:
http://www.janeasher.com/bespokeask.php?item=1004&title=Shoreline%20Turtle
Wow! That is quite a stunning cake.
DeleteI have a photo of a tortoise today!
ReplyDeleteI'm rethinking my comment on someone's blog that my turtles probably died from lack of calcium. I'm not positive they died of boredom in their little plastic prison.
ReplyDeleteA moment of silence for all those little turtles that have passed on.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Ah yes, Cake Wrecks is wonderful too! I'm not so much a fan of turtle soup ....though, but have seen a turtle cake even before from childhood! My mother even had (now mine) a lamb form for cakes!
ReplyDeleteI remember my brother's tiny turtle climbing out of the bowl and being lost forever. At least that's what my parents claimed.
ReplyDeleteMom had her hands full with those three.(But in a good way!) It probably left little time for cake school. I don't think I've been down that isle at Trader Joe's.
ReplyDelete