Passionfruit and Lemon Chiffon cake for Raphael House
A photo of a cake slightly off-center of the frame, with the left side of the cake outside of view. White buttercream base-layer with beautiful yellow vintage Lambeth-style piping on a silver cake drum, sitting on a blue and white striped tablecloth with a green background.
Last week I made a lovely, lively, spring-inspired cake to donate to a fundraiser at Portland’s Raphael House. The Community Engagement Coordinator reached out to me through some mutual friends to ask if I could donate a cake or dessert, and I jumped at the opportunity! I have a long history of donating cakes to various fundraiser, from a “Ted Wheeler anti-celebration Birthday Cake” (I’ll see if I can dig up an image of that cake—it’s pretty hilarious!) fundraiser for mutual aid groups, to bake-sale fundraisers for reproductive health advocacy in other states and many others.
The work the Raphael House is doing is especially salient for me. I would not be where I am today without the support of the family and friends who carried my through my journey of self-advocacy and survival. Domestic abuse isolates people, estranges them from their support networks, and slowly encroaches on all areas of life. Fundraising is super important so they can continue to do their direct support and advocacy work as well as education and prevention projects. Fundraising with cake just sweetens the deal ;)
“We collaborate with survivors, community partners, and volunteers to create pathways for transformation. Our interconnected supports range from emergency shelter, to on-site and community-based supportive services for domestic violence survivors, to prevention education for students and adults.”
A shot of the same cake from below, emphasizing the stature of the cake and capturing the full extent of its ornate, symmetrical piping. White buttercream base-layer with beautiful yellow vintage Lambeth-style piping on a silver cake drum, sitting on a blue and white striped tablecloth with a green background.
there is hope
♡♡♡
you are not alone
♡♡♡
there is hope ♡♡♡ you are not alone ♡♡♡
A close up detail-shot of the same cake, showing the smooth texture and lightness of the buttercream piping. Contrasting off-white, yellows, and orange in swirls, squiggles, pearls, hearts, and shells.
I truly love any excuse to make a beautiful cake and go all-out in decorating it. I captioned a social media post of this cake with a remark that I was inspired by the brave daffodils who first peeked out from below before any other signs of spring gave us hope that winter would wind to a close. The Raphael House is a spring daffodil, giving survivors of DV hope and strength to push through one of the hardest things to endure—separating oneself from one’s abuser and beginning the process of rebuilding.