Heart Disease Month and Valentine's Day Cakes

February is full of hearts! Not only do we celebrate Valentine's Day in February, but also Heart Disease month. This issue is one very close to me, as I have lost my Grandfather and son to Heart Disease. I myself have a form of heart disease affecting the valves of my heart.

In response, I have always found this cause to be a great one. Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women in this country. Over 350,000 women are taken from us each year.

This year to help raise money, all proceeds from my cakes this month are going to be donated to the American Heart Association. I always make a donation on February 26, which happens to be the birthday of both my Grandfather and my son who were taken because of this.

Here is an example of some of the cakes I have been selling. So far, as of today I have raised over $500. I usually sell a plate of petit fours like this for around $35.

Valentine's Day is a great generator of orders, and the "heart" theme allows me to get my message across along with my cakes. This cake above is an ice cream cake made with homemade ice cream and dark chocolate hearts and decorations.

The cake above is made with chocolate ganache and "Whoppers" for decorations. I have sold probably 5 of these cakes alone.

The cake above is the cake I made for my daughter's Valentine's Day party at school.

The cake above has been my best seller so far, selling 15 cakes. The chocolates on top are homemade as well as the cake itself.

I made many variations on this cake this year, in different colors and different themes upon request. I think in total I have sold probably 40 cakes and 32 petit fours. I would like to thank all of my friends and relatives who lent a hand and a kitchen when needed.

I still have Mardi Gras to go!!

In the meantime, for those of you reading this blog (no I don't ship cakes) there is something I would like to ask of all of you. Go to http://www.heartforwomen.org and send a letter to your Congress representative asking them to cosponsor the HEART for Women Act.

Also, for those of you that can, please go to http://donate.americanheart.org and give a donation to the American Heart Association. You can make your donation a Memorial or a Tribute, as well as give a general donation.

Again this is a very personal plea and I would like to thank you all in advance for any assistance you can offer in advance.