The Company: Located in Rockland county, NY, Carousel Cakes is a family owned business and was founded in 1975 by Martin Lefkowitz. For over 30 years they have sold cakes wholesale to over 700 restaurants! Local restaurants and gourmet grocers include Zeytinia Fine Food Marketplace in Oakland and Englewood, Aldo & Gianni Ristorante in Montvale, Valentino’s of Park Ridge, the Clinton Inn Hotel in Tenafly. Manhattan customers include Zabar’s, the private Friars Club, EJ’s Luncheonette and the American Museum of Natural History.

The Products: Carousel Cakes specializes in chocolate cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes and other fine desserts. Their cakes have been featured on tv and in many magazines, including Oprah’s O Magazine! Oprah’s favorite: the Red Velvet Cake!

Some of the top sellers include: Black and White Mousse Supreme, Brownie Cheesecake, Turtle Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cake and Coconut Snowball Cake.

Many of their products are flourless and Kosher, but not ‘Kosher for Passover’.

The Cupcakes by Carousel Shop: After many years in the wholesale business, the family decided to open a Cupcakes Shop in Ridgewood, NJ, to allow the general public to try mini versions of their delicious cakes. Cupcakes by Carousel has been featured in our Valentine’s Day Cupcake Guide.

Charity: Cupcakes by Carousel is dedicated to supporting different causes and  tries to do a cure cupcake each month. They also support education and creativity by hosting contests in honor of the National Cupcake Day. For more info, please visit their websites at CupcakesbyCarousel.com & CarouselCakes.com.

Giveaway Details:

Carousel Cakes has generously donated a Chocolate Mousse Supreme cake to one lucky winner.

This giveaway is open to US residents only.

How to enter (required): Visit  CarouselCakes.com  and then come back and leave a comment telling us the name of your favorite product!

For additional entries (leave a new comment for each additional entry):
- one additional entry if you are or become our fan on FACEBOOK;
- one additional entry if you grab our button from the sidebar and post it on your blog, please post the link;
- one additional entry if you follow us on Twitter;
- one additional entry if you send a tweet about this giveaway (once a day only); make sure to include @1happyblogger.
- one additional entry if you fave us in Technorati;
- one additional entry if you blog about this Giveaway with a link back to 100CafeStreet.com and CarouselCakes.com
- one additional entry if you follow 100CafeStreet.com via email.

#########

The giveaway ends on February 17, 2010 at the end of day, Pacific Standard Time. Carousel Cakes will ship the prize.

*Please make sure you leave a comment for each additional entry so you get credited.
*Also, please make sure you typed in the correct email address.
*The winner will be announced via e-mail and has 2 days to get back to us or other name will be chosen.
*Incomplete entries will be disqualified & deleted.

##########

See if you won!

Ranging from palm-flavored mini cakes with shredded coconut (khanom tan) to jasmine scented coconut pudding (tako), the majority of Thai meals end with fresh fruit or a sweet snack as dessert. Chao kuai is a grass jelly typically served with shaved ice and brown sugar, while sangkhaya fak thong combines egg and coconut served with pumpkin. In the United States, Thai desserts containing mango, coconut milk, and sticky rice are most popular, like the ones listed below:

The Importance of Mango

In Thai cuisine, mango plays an important role – added to entrees, side dishes and especially desserts. If you’d like to explore Thai sweets that include the delectably sweet fruit, consider mango sorbet and pudding. Mango Sorbet usually requires the use of a blender or food processor to produce the light and airy frozen treat of sweetened water flavored with iced fruit juice or puree. For a quick Thai treat, Mango Pudding only takes about 15 minutes to create. Some recipes use coconut milk instead of whipping cream or evaporated milk, which livens up the flavor of the mango.

Thai Mango Sticky Sweet Rice

Sticky rice (also known as glutinous rice) possesses a glue-like consistency and is used in a variety of Thai desserts and dishes. You can locate sticky rice at an Asian grocery store or a supermarket aisle offering international food products. A colander is generally used to steam the sticky rice or it is made on a stovetop in a pot. This classic tropical blend starts with saturating the sticky rice in coconut milk and ends with slices of fresh or frozen mango as a topping.

Pandan Rice Cake

Another Thai dessert that uses sticky rice is the two-layered Pandan Rice Cake – a relatively healthy treat that’s low in sugar, rich in protein, and low in saturated fat. The first layer consists of sticky rice, coconut milk, and a green-colored paste known as “pandan” – made from the juice of Pandanus amaryllifolius leaves. The first layer is also sweetened with white or brown sugar (and sometimes maple syrup). The second layer is comprised of eggs, coconut milk, sugar, pandan paste, and rice flour. Often served warm or at room temperature, the cake is usually decorated with fresh fruit or drizzled with toasted coconut.

Thai-Style Crème Caramel

The Thai version of the traditional crème caramel dessert uses coconut milk in place of cream, which supplies the body with good fats that help lower your cholesterol. Most recipes create a whipped treat you pop in the oven in less than ten minutes.

Green Tea and Coconut Cake

A favorite at potluck gatherings, dinner parties and afternoon tea, Green Tea and Coconut Cake blends healthy green tea with shredded coconut, brown sugar, and coconut milk. Because of the ingredients, this Thai dessert offers a low-fat, low-carb, low-sodium treat. Typical recipes use about three teaspoons of green tea powder, such as Japanese ‘macha’ – found at health food stores or Asian import markets.

Image Credit: Sue Pizarro (suzula) – sticky rice & mango