Do What to the Mayo?
May 5, 2009 Did you know that on this day in 1862, the Mexican army enjoyed an unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla?* Yep. It was such an auspicious occasion that they named that fateful 5th of May... [consulting clipboard] the...er...5th of May.
Wait - is that right? [searching through papers]
Oh, but they named it in Spanish - I see. That way, instead of sounding silly, it sounds all "exotic-like" to us Gringos.
Anyhoo, these days we Americans have put our own spin on Cinco de Mayo:
Namely, we consume copious amounts of alcohol at extended happy hours across the country. Though to be fair, some of us will be wearing sombreros at the time.
"Hey Jo, what'd you find down at the bakery?"
"Meh. Just a couple of Mexican clowns waving flags."
"What?!?"
"Oh."
(Anyone else think those "music notes" look like a pack of sky-diving sixes?)
I was going to suggest that something like a taco cake might be more appropriate today, but then I realized that's stereotyping. So instead, how about this?
Display it in a sink**, and all your Spanish-speaking friends will think you're hilarious. Or stupid. But then, they probably already think you're one of those anyway, so what have you got to lose?
Yenni, Matt J., & Kristin M., I hear happy hour starts at noon. Chop chop!
*Thank you, Wikipedia.
**Sink o' de Mayo? Get it?
Reader Comments (106)
Is it sick that I find that jar of Mayo far more appetizing than the previous 2 cakes?
Love the mayo cake. I wonder if there's mayo in the cake batter as well, I've seen that in some recipes
Just what I've always wanted...
A MAYO cake!
"It was such an auspicious occasion that they named that fateful 5th of May... [consulting clipboard] the...er...5th of May."
That's almost as crazy as naming the great day that your country achieved independence on July 4, 1776 the Fourth of July.
Oh.
:)
ZING!
I was totally unprepared for that last one.
Thanks for telling me they were music notes. I thought the clowns were sleeping with their eyes wide open. Clowns are plenty scary enough without that!
WV: "senso" What is the senso having a Cinco de Mayo cake, if you are not going to spell out Mayo?
Are those empty mini bottles on top of that first cake? It's hard to see.
In defense of whoever named the day, I just want to point out that we usually call American Independence Day the 4th of July. Not too creative either. :)
Love the mayo cake in the sink!!
I'm pretty sure those music notes look so silly because they are backward! Also...I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I didn't get the mayo in the sink joke until I read your footnote!
And just this morning I was wondering if you'd have any wrecks related to Cinco de Mayo :P
Hmm, you mean silly like calling one's national holiday the 4th of July?
Haha Sink o de mayo. Love it!
Okay, somebody please enlighten me about the Hellman's in the sink!
Calling it Cinco de Mayo is kind of like the 4th of July, eh? :)
Hahah sink 'o de mayo.. I love it!
**Sink-o de Mayo
arrrgghh...yes, Jen, I got it. You can have it back.
;-P
Love mayo. Love Sinko Mayo. Great post!
Mayo in cake batter is just a substitute for eggs if you're out of 'em (you can also use a little soy protein powder with water). I was wondering how y'all would honor the day. Me? I'm gonna cook up some yummy Mexican (meh ee con) vittles and down a few bottles of Negra Modelo.
Love the Sink-o de Mayo cake! The only thing better than a nicely executed and tasty cake is one with a pun thrown in!
That clown cake is just plain scary. I had no idea those were supposed to be music notes. I thought the clowns were being attacked by a flock of crows.
sink o' de mayo--
I think that's an Irish-Mexican holiday
Now can we have a bacon cake to go with the mayo cake?
Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com)
All I have to say is: Cake Wrecks is about the only thing that makes me happy about having to get up in the mornings. Thank you for the absurdity!
I wonder what they used for frosting on that mayo cake....
I sure hope its filled with *butter*cream!
Still hunting my local bakery for wrecks...but the prey is wary.
-Benjamin
A taco cake would be awesome. Por favor, seniorita?
What do you call a sinking ship full of condiments? Cinco de Mayo :o)
Happy Five de Mayo... LMAO... That's really making the extra effort. (shaking head)
Yes people we've got it... 4th of July... moving on. Can only hope there will be a Happy Cuatro of July cake for the occasion.
"Like July the 4th!"
is so going to be the new
"Spacewaah? That's Epcot!"
wv: dizeste
All dizeste comes from de spices.
OK who comes up with these ideas? "Hey guys! Let's make like... a jar of mayo......... in cake form. Yeah? Yeah? Huh?" "Yeah OK." "Wooooo!! Yeah! Mayo-cake time!"
and hence started the epic saga of how someone wasted their life being weird but kinda awesome at the same time :)
Love the Hellman's cake!
By the way, I work with a lot of Mexicans in manufacturing, and NONE of them have ever celebrated Cinco de Mayo. They think we are stupid gringos for taking a minor Mexican holiday and thinking we're celebrating something big with them. Oh well, any excuse for a margarita will do.
Bah ha ha ha ha... Sinko de mayo. Excellent...er, I mean Excellente (that's Spanish for excellent - if I could type the accent that is)
By the way, to a previous poster...the 4th of July is also widely known as "Independence Day."
I nearly aspirated Special K at "sky-diving sixes".
I know its been said before, but I can't help pointing out that the actual name of the 4th of July is Independence Day. We're just lazy.
Also, I bet our Mexican neighbors really appreciate the lengths we go to to celebrate their special day. Giving clowns Mexican flags? Drinking while wearing sombreros? If that doesn't show respect, I don't know what does.
A few of those sixes look much more like sevens!
And I'll never understand why the same old flowers are used on ALL cakes. Ick.
Megan @ adventuresofacarnivore.com
What occasion would call for a Mayo cake? I need the back story on this....
wv...Proust...She must have been so proust of that cake.
My dog just came over to check if I was all right--the noise I made when I saw the dead Mexican clowns was apparently that concerning.
What's with the comments saying that Americans call Independence Day the Fourth of July? Sure, that is one way to refer to it, but its main, official name is Independence Day. ,':\
Cinco de mayo has no other name that people commonly refer to it as.
Anyway, ha.. mayo in the sink. I see what you did there. At first I was wondering why in the world you'd have a mayonnaise cake in a Cinco de Mayo themed post, but then I read the rest.
I personally thought the music notes looked mostly like "7"s with little tails.
Who's with me?
-Ronnie
My favorite is cake #1 with the pretty pink roses and tasty olives sprinkled all around to wish me a "Happy Drunk Day"
Well the music notes are backwards...i hate it when ppl who dont know do stupid things like that. and FYI cinco de mayo is also known as the mexican independance day just like our 4th of july.
I am ROTFLOL at the "sink o de mayo"....too funny!!!
To correct the poster above me... Mexican Independance Day is in SEPTEMBER... it is commonly mistaken to be 5/5. But it's not.
A friend of mine sends out this story every year, and I thought you'd appreciate it. Please send all virtual roses and rotten tomatoes to him. :D
--------------------
We all know the story of the Titanic: giant boat, set sail for New York from England. She sank in a horrible tragedy in the middle of nowhere 15 April 1912.
Most people don't know the whole story however.
Early in 1912 Hellmann's Mayonnaise (an English company) revolutionized the condiment world by successfully preserving mayo in jars. The Titanic was carrying over ten thousand jars of Hellmann's mayo in her hold when she went down.
The Titanic's second port of call was to be Cozumel, Mexico. This was also the ultimate destination for the Hellmann's in her giant iron belly. It seems that mayo had never before been commercially available in Mexico and the populace was just going nuts over the stuff. When news hit Mexico of the Titanic's sinking in early May the nation went into mourning for the loss. The government of Mexico declared a national day of mourning, in fact, to be celebrated every year in remembrance of the event: Cinco de Mayo.
Share with me, won't you, a moment of silence. Lest we forget.
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone.
Five minutes later and I am still laughing at the idea of mayo in a sink.
I love how the second cake says Happy 5 De Mayo.
haha I didn't get it at first : )
I liked the mayo jar cake.
www.mycreativeway.blogspot.com
Strange thing. I'm mexican and we don't make cakes of this day or any other day. It's funny for us to hear how you say "Cinco de Mayo"
I am just LOVING those orange chaps on the clowns!! Sexy! ; )
Olives on a cake...ewwwwww. Ewwwwwww. Loving the Mayo reference. Very funny!
those are music notes? eeks...