What's the best cake you've ever had? Taste & look wise...

Hey guys,

Ok, so I need to make some cakes... about 15 of them. We have a festival coming up where you give food baskets to your friends. Most people do baskets filled with junk food. I used to do nice large fruit baskets as I hate just giving junk food, and it gets expensive, and everyone has way more than the need (picture a good 20 baskets filled with lollies coming to your house!)

Overseas people tend to be more creative - one of my SIL neighbours made coffee slushies & smoked salmon/cream cheese bagels and wrapped them up like take away, and left them by peoples doors first thing in the morning, or another did their's in aeroplane containers and their kids dressed up as pilots/air hostesses to deliver them. Last year I made lolly sushi - roll ups for the seaweed, rice crispie for the rice, cut up coloured liquorice for the veggies, and little tubs of choc sauce for the soy sauce - all in take away sushi containers with chop sticks. This year I need something new, but I'm also recovering from an operation. I don't want to spend a heap of money as it does add up, and we have at least 15 people to give to. Some people fill spice containers with lollies etc and wrap them up, but it could get pricey. so I was thinking of making an awesome bundt cake in advance, and then putting it on a cake board wrapped in cellophane & a ribbon and giving that instead, along with a bottle of wine or something (you have to give 2 types of food/drink).

Anyway, I'm needing people's ideas on something totally new that's either cute or classy that can be made up the week before, or ideas for the cake. I need a recipe that will freeze well, that is dairy free (i can use soy milk & marg, but no cream), and that looks awesome. If I had good cake making skills maybe I could do a sheet cake and decorate it, but I don't, and getting 15 of them done will be hard, so I figure something that comes out of a bundt tin nicely will look good. It can be iced or dusted or plain, it just has to taste incredible, as some of the people on our lists are such incredible cooks that I would almost rather give packaged junk then crash & burn on the cake idea.

I'm looking for all recipes, ideas & comments!

Thanks

How about panforte?

Or a sheet slice?

A chocolate fruit cake.

Chocolate Kugelhopf.

Flourless orange cake! Florentines?

Make a small round cake you are comfortable making, ice it with frosting, stick chocolate shards (you can get dairy free chocolate), all around the sides with the shards being taller then the cake. Fill the top with berries or fruit of your choice.

Ok, I'm thinking chocolate mud cake in a bundt tin, with powdered sugar over the top.

I found a good recipe (I only like chocolate cake if they have real chocolate & cocoa powder), but this one also calls for bourbon. Has anyone used bourbon in a cake, and does it give an alcohol-y taste?

Otherwise I found a nice chocolate cinnamon recipe which looks good... I want something that will appeal to most people.

And now I have to get started bakin 19 of them!

You can just omit the bourbon from the recipe if you don't want to us it. It will taste of alcohol, depending on the amount. Some like the taste, some don't. I would er of the side of caution and leave it out personally.

Good luck!