Rose’s October 2026 Blog - An Autumn Cake Party

Spice Time

Autumn, you are back at last!
The time has come for nutmeg,
Squirrels and acorns, a kaleidoscope
Of colored leaves, golden aspens, red
Maples, toasty brown oaks and the scent
Of forever pines. Summer seemed endless,
And while we love ice cream and slushies
From our new machine, we grow weary
Of sweating even before breakfast, and
Waking up damp in the sultry night.
We treasure the egrets and the pink plumerias,
But we long for a brisk breeze in the first
Chilly sunup, pumpkins in the fields, the
Scent of cinnamon in the kitchen and the first
Evening when we need our tweed jacket again.

Here in Honolulu, the shift from season to season is not particularly noticeable, except for the fact that hurricane season arrives with summer and over-stays its welcome, and the whales migrating on the long journey from Alaska appear in January, along with higher tides and plovers escaping the cold up north. Nevertheless, we celebrate the autumn festivities, including Halloween and Thanksgiving, even without the chilly mornings and early dustings of snowflakes. And Afternoon Tea is a custom that remains popular in Hawaii in every season. I recently participated in an even easier afternoon gathering with some of the members of our condo’s book club—a Cake Party.

After a warm dawn,
Autumn’s orange heat stretches
Across the sunset.

This charming event skipped the first two “courses” of a traditional Afternoon Tea, Savories and Scones, and proceeded straight to the third course: Sweets. The mastermind of this informal get-together, held outdoors in one of the condo’s cabana areas, was Alice Shelley, a former professional dancer, model and figure skating coach for American Junior Olympic figure skaters and competitors for the National Figure Skating championships. Alice is now retired but still filled with creative energy. She organized a small gathering of six couples who are members of the Book Club, and our assignment was to bring one cake per couple, focusing on taste, texture and artistic appearance. The variety was stunning! Each cake was unique in visual appeal and flavor profile. One participant, George Ann, confessed that she has never been a baker and does not have any of the equipment or ingredients for baking a cake in her kitchen. She was welcome to purchase a cake and brought a beautiful chocolate and vanilla mousse cake from the nearby and always reliable Whole Foods Bakery. Alice herself was too busy organizing the event, including appropriate beverages and even a cooler filled with gourmet ice cream and sorbet selected to harmonize with the flavors of the cakes. Alice consulted with a high-end local bakery, Hula Honey Bakery, where the owner, Wynette Zamora, constructed and delivered a cake that resembled the building in which we all live, Nauru Tower, the first high-rise condominium built in Honolulu during the modern Kaka'ako/Ala Moana redevelopment era of the early 1990s. This cake was divine, with four layers (resembling our forty-four-story building) of coconut cake with guava, coconut and vanilla buttercream filling and decorative icing made with fresh, premium ingredients.

And just in case anyone might forget to bring a cake, Alice also brought another magnificent cake creation which surprisingly, she found in the frozen desserts section at the local Costco. Labeled “The Ultimate American Birthday Cake” and created by baking superstar, Buddy Valastro, this red, white and blue masterpiece was composed of Blueberry Cheesecake, Apple Crumble Pie and Strawberry Cake, layered with blueberry buttercream and sprinkles with a custom topper, created by Alice to identify this patriotic marvel.

Clouds cover the moon.
Gentle autumn rain sparkles
On the white ginger.

For this festive event, I baked my favorite Triple Espresso Cake with Chocolate Icing, which I have brought to every potluck and social gathering for the past several years. You can find the photo and recipe for this easy but stunning cake on this website in the Calendar of Tea Parties August Section.

Even in autumn
Wind, the bees keep hovering
In the pink blossoms.

A truly astounding cake creation was constructed as a team project by Bruce and Cheryl—an edible Sand Castle Cake! This one-of-a-kind architectural gem was perfect for the occasion as Nauru Tower stands directly across Ala Moana Boulevard from Ala Moana Beach, where sand castles are built on a daily basis by both local and visiting beach lovers. The design of Bruce and Cheryl’s cake perfectly depicted a medieval gothic castle with a moat and turrets composed of pointed upside-down ice cream cones covered with grated graham cracker crumbs, exactly the color of sand, “glued” on with sugary syrup. Bruce was apparently the architect of this design, and Cheryl baked the Red Velvet Cake hiding under all the towers and turrets. They told us that their grandchildren watched them build this edible castle via family zoom. All of us at the cake party were able to taste every cake, and this one was as delicious as all the others.

The afternoon wind
Rolls down the mountain, bringing
Petals to the beach.

One of my favorite cakes at this party was a lovely Armenian Orange Cake baked from scratch by Marion, not just a member of the Book Club, but also active in a Film Appreciation Club and a Wine Tasting group. I loved the orange color and deep citrus flavor generated by freshly grated orange zest. The texture of this single-layer cake was firm and hearty, and Marion served it with freshly whipped cream, flavored with orange juice and or Grand Marnier. She cleverly decorated this traditional autumnal cake with old fashioned sugar-coated gummy orange candies, shaped like citrus slices. These candies were one of my childhood favorites, always present in my grandmother’s cut glass cookie jar. I have always associated these happy candies with Halloween and all its orange treats.

Halloween’s half moon
Gleams on the Jack O’Lanterns
Glowing on the porch.

When I asked Marion where she found the recipe for this old-world cake, she told me that she had possessed the recipe for many years but did not know its origin. I know that orange cakes have been popular in the Middle East, where oranges grow abundantly, for centuries, and my Jerusalem Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi has a lovely recipe for Clementine and Almond Syrup Cake, which contains ground almonds in the batter and a hot citrus syrup poured over the cake when it is freshly baked. Marion’s Armenian Orange Cake is much simpler to make. I found four recipes on different websites, and they all turned out to be identical, differing only in the amount of information included about the size and shape of the pan used to bake this delicious cake. I have decided to share the recipe I found for Armenian Orange Cake, as I think you and your family will love this hearty autumn pastry as much as Wayne and I and the other members of the Nauru Tower Book Club did.

October’s waning
Moon languishes beside a
Tall condo’s penthouse.

The minute I tasted Marion’s Armenian Orange Cake, topped with luscious orange flavored whipped cream, I thought immediately that this unusual cake would be a perfect addition to the traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert table. The faintly orange color and refreshing citrus flavor would harmonize well with Apple, Pumpkin or Mincemeat Pie or my favorite old-time Fruitcake with Hard Sauce. I am choosing to share the recipe I adapted from Food.Com, although similar recipes can be found on the Times Colonist, Microplane and The Best of Bridge websites. Serve this beautiful cake on your cake pedestal if you have one. Feel free to adjust the amount of allspice and nutmeg to your family’s preferences. Adding a dose of Grand Marnier to the batter and the whipped cream is also up to you. And if you’re really into Grand Marnier and plan to serve the cake a day after baking it, add a few tablespoons to the top of the cake while it is still warm and wrap it carefully in plastic wrap or cover it with a cake dome after it has cooled. This recipe will make a large amount of whipped cream. Encourage the guests to add as much Orange Whipped Cream as they wish to the top of each slice of cake.

ARMENIAN ORANGE CAKE

For the Batter:

2 cups light brown sugar
2 cups flour
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ teaspoon salt
2 tables freshly grated orange rind (from 1-2 large navel oranges,) divided
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cream sour cream at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten
½ cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (optional)
Cooking spray for the pan
Gummy orange slice candies for decorating (optional)

For the Orange Whipped Cream:

1 pint (2 cups) chilled heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice or
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (added and gently stirred in after the cream is whipped)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Special Equipment: 9-inch springform pan, parchment, waxed paper, kitchen gloves, large mixing bowl, rubber spatula, hand-held electric mixer, citrus grater (such as a Microplane,) wire rack, bamboo skewer, cake pedestal with dome or decorative platter and plastic wrap, crystal serving bowl with ladle

Serves: 8-12 servings

Spray a 9-inch springform baking pan evenly with cooking spray. Cut two rounds of parchment paper to fit the bottom on the pan and fit them into the bottom of the pan one at a time, spraying the top of each as you add them. Set aside. Wearing latex or rubber kitchen gloves to protect your fingers, finely grate the peel (not the white pith) of 2 oranges onto a large sheet of waxed paper and set aside.
Place the brown sugar, flour, butter, salt, allspice, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of grated orange peel into a large mixing bowl and beat at medium speed with an electric mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula until the mixture is blended and crumbly. Spread half of the crumb mixture into the prepared pan and press it down firmly and evenly.
Add the baking soda, sour cream, 1 tablespoon of the reserved grated orange peel and beaten egg to the remaining flour mixture and beat with the same mixer until well blended. Blend 2 tablespoon of Grand Marnier into the batter if you wish.
Pour the batter evenly over the crumb base and sprinkle the top with sliced almonds. Bake in the 350-degree pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes, until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the cake on a wire rack and cool for 10-15 minutes. Then remove the cake and the parchment and place the cake onto a cake pedestal or decorative platter to cool. When the cake has cooled completely, decorate it with a circle of orange gummy candies and cover with a cake dome or plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to serve.
Prepare the Orange Whipped Cream: Wash the large mixing bowl, electric mixer beaters and rubber spatula and place them in the freezer for at least half an hour. Pour the chilled whipping cream into the cold bowl and beat at medium speed until soft peaks start to form, only about 1 minute. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of the remaining grated orange peel and 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice, and continue to beat, 1 or 2 more minutes, until firm peaks form. Gently stir in the Grand Marnier if you wish. Place the Whipped Cream into a decorative serving bowl with a ladle and serve immediately with the Armenian Orange Cake. Refrigerate any leftover Whipped Cream.