Gourmet Gift of the Day Blog

My co-worker’s mother has a soft spot for cheesecake.  She is an excellent cook and makes a decadent NY Cheesecake, so this year for Mother’s Day my co-worker wanted to get her mom something she wasn’t able to make better herself.  This Neapolitan Cheesecake was the perfect gift – it cured her mother’s craving for cheesecake but also gave her a new combination of flavors that she had not tried before.  The chocolate cookie crust is topped with a layer of chocolate fudge, then raspberry cream and finally creamy vanilla cheesecake.

To ensure that the dessert arrived fresh and delicious it was only available for overnight delivery, but the shipping cost of $34.95 was still reasonable.  The 3 lb cheesecake is enough for 10-12 people and is priced at $39.

Featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show and the Home Shopping Network, the Tortuga Rum Company has spent the last 20 years perfecting their top secret rum cake recipe.  This combo features their wildly popular 16 oz Golden Rum Cake paired with an 8 oz package of Rum Cream Coffee.  The fun containers show an elaborate pirate ship logo and the reasonable price of $29.95 includes shipping so you can order one for yourself without feeling guilty!  The Tortuga Rum Company produces more than 5,000 gourmet rum cakes each day, hand-glazing each cake with 5 year old premium rum, then vaccuum sealing each cake to preserve freshness.  The cake and coffee combo is a great breakfast treat, housewarming gift or thank you for a special teacher.

I’m really excited for fresh strawberries this summer – I get together with my sisters and we make strawberry pies, strawberry jam and strawberry shortcake, but we’ve never made strawberry layer cake.  However, with a cake as delicious as the one you can order from Very Vera, why bother making it yourself!  The decadent 3-layer cake is covered with sweet pink icing and finished with a simple floral design on top.  The layers are thick, moist and filled with genuine strawberry flavor!  Very Vera’s cakes can be seen in Oprah Magazine, and they are sure to be a hit for this Mother’s Day.  Order one for your mom for only $50 (shipping cost varies by destination zip code).

Featured in Oprah’s signature magazine, the Sticky Toffee Pudding Company is owned by Austin businesswoman Tracy Claros – who was born in England and began creating desserts at a very early age.  A traditional British dessert, hot puddings have become a favorite of many American diners and the desserts offered by the Sticky Toffee Pudding Company have won national tasting awards!

Tracy’s signature dish – Sticky Toffee Pudding – is a combination of a light, moist chocolate cake baked with sticky dates, vanilla and espresso.  The pudding is then soaked in a buttery toffee sauce and can be served warm, chilled, or at room temperature – although it is most authentic if served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  A 6 pack of individual puddings can be ordered for $30 plus shipping.

My grandma loves desserts with Key Lime flavor – something she picked up on a cruise in the Bahamas many years ago.  At her home we have enjoyed Key Lime pie, cake, cookies, cheesecake, cupcakes, a Key Lime cheeseball, and even Key Lime candies.  So I knew that this Key Lime Bundt Cake from We Take The Cake would be a hit at her birthday dinner!  The neighborhood ladies club gathers once a month to celebrate members’ birthdays, and last month the celebration was at Grandma’s house.  She set out her fine china, made a steaming pot of coffee, and opened the package we sent to her just for this special day.  The ladies raved about the moist and delicious cake, and were tickled that the great Oprah Winfrey had named it one of her “Favorite Things”.  The cake disappeared in mere minutes, so it’s a good thing that Grandma had backup desserts on hand!

We sent Grandma this 8″, 2 lb cake for $28 plus shipping.  The website says that a cake of this size feeds 10-12 people – there were 15 ladies at the birthday luncheon and Grandma said that everyone enjoyed a very nice-sized piece.

If Valentine’s Day had a signature cake flavor – it would have to be red velvet!  The bakery artisans at Bake Me A Wish have created this year’s ultimate Valentine Cake – a decadent red velvet chocolate cake, covered in pure cream cheese frosting, with white chocolate sprinkles and a belgian chocolate “Love” medallion on top.  The cake is then boxed in their signature gold gift box and shipped directly to your sweetheart for $39.95 plus $14.99 shipping.  The 7″ cake will serve 6-8 people, but only if you wish to share!

As part of Operation:  Birthday Cake, Bake Me A Wish uses 5% of each sale to help send birthday cakes to soldiers deployed overseas.  So you are not only making your sweetheart happy this year, you are helping to bring a delightful cake to a soldier who cannot be with family on their birthday.

Eggnog is a great holiday drink that I enjoy at our family Christmas, but it is a bit too sweet to have any other time of the year.  Thankfully I have found another option when I want the eggnog flavor, without the overpowering sweetness.  This Eggnog Cake has a wonderfully moist texture, and mixes the eggnog flavor with some extra cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a more savory taste.  The cake is iced with a simple white sugar glaze, and is so delicious that I could eat it year-round!  I love the decorative bundt pans that are used to bake these cakes, and Mrs. Beasley’s website even recommends freezing the cakes to enjoy at a later time (since they can only be purchased during the Christmas season).   A 10″ cake will serve 10-12 people, and is currently on sale for $19.95.

My family heritage is mainly German on my father’s side, which may explain why I adore German Chocolate Cake so much.  Either that, or I’m just a sucker for chocolate!  In any case the German Chocolate Cake available from the Chocolate Bakery is absolutely decadent.  Fresh, moist and delicious, with creamy chocolate buttercreme, coconut and toasted pecans, it was very hard for me to share this cake with my family!  Luckily the 7″ cake serves 6-10 guests so I had plenty for myself and my boys.

The price of $59.99 includes 2nd day air shipping, or you can upgrade to overnight delivery for an additional $9.95.  I would definitely order this cake again for a dinner party or special occasion, or add a custom message to the cake and ship it directly to my aunt (who loves German Chocolate Cake even more than I do) for a special birthday treat.

After living in Virginia for 13 years, I picked up some Southern Food cravings and there is nothing better than the seven layer caramel cake from Caroline’s Cakes in Maryland. Melt-in-your-mouth caramel icing coats seven layers of moist delicious cake.  Weighing in at nearly 5 pounds, it is large enough to feed a crowd – although I’m not sure you are going to want to share this one.  The cake measures about 9″ in diameter. You can buy the cake for $42.50 plus shipping. 

You can pick the cake up at their local store or have it shipped directly to you via UPS or FedEX express. They freeze the cakes and put them in a protective tin prior to shipping to ensure that they arrive in excellent condition. Consider sending one to a friend or family member for their birthday – they’ll be delighted!

The chocoholics in your life would be delighted to receive this gift pack that holds a 1lb. Tipsy® Fudge Cake along with Tipsy® Caramel Sauce and Tipsy® Fudge Sauce in a gold foil gift box that is tied off with a festive ribbon. Made by a Nashville company called Pepper Patch, you can not only purchase this chocolate delight, but also various gourmet cakes, dessert sauces, and fruit butters. Apparently the company was started in the 1970’s to sell the owner’s pepper jelly, hence the company name of Pepper Patch.

You can purchase the Tipsy Fudge Gift Pack for $35.95 plus shipping.