These Booths Were Made for Frosting

Sukkot for me will always evoke memories of sitting outside in a cold Canadian drizzle huddled under three sweaters, and eating piping hot cabbage borscht.

Twenty years in Jerusalem later, things have changed somewhat. On this holiday, sukkot (impermanent booths) of all shapes and sizes spring up on every previously unoccupied piece of lawn, pavement and sidewalk. Even the tiniest café or ice cream store will erect a sukkah outside its door, and public parks will provide a roomy sukkah for picnicking families.

With this cake, I attempted to elicit the joy of the holiday, with chasidim dancing under paper lanterns. On another side, a banner above the door welcomes all comers to the sukkah.

Turn it around and you can see a paper chain – ubiquitous in sukkot the world over – hung above signs for the seven Ushpizin who traditionally pay a visit to the sukkah every night. The last panel – in a nod to the seven species found in Israel – features grape clusters and vines, a popular theme of many sukkah decorations.

The top is adorned with the schach – branches, fronds, or matting – that by Jewish law must form the roof of the sukkah. These were meant to represent palm fronds, but my botany could use a little brushing up, so just use your imagination.