Ranchi, Dec. 24: Be it Christmas or New Year, no celebration is complete without delicious cakes. Shops have whipped up plum puddings, yule logs, plum cakes, mousse and fruit baskets.

The Cake Carnival at Cakes & Bakes at the Gopal Complex on Kutchery Road, Ranchi, offers many flavours in a wide range of designs.

One could choose from the faces of one’s favourite cartoon characters to landscapes and floral baskets.

“The carnival will be on till January 10. We will be offering a discount of 20 per cent,” says Rajmohan Talwar, the sales manager.

A grand floral basket cake with a base of bread topped with rich icing is the main highlight. Weighing 10 kg, the cake costs about Rs 2,000.

Every year during this time, Bharat Bakery on Main Road, one of the oldest shops in Ranchi, prepares yummy flavours garnished with nuts and dry fruits, soaked in rum, wine and brandy.

Sweets on Wheels — is a concept that is catching, too. “At present, there are five pastry vans and through these we sell pastries at a uniform rate of Rs 20. We shall start another five pastry vans soon,” says V. Kumar, the owner of these vans who came here from Calcutta about a year ago.

Yellow Sapphire at Hotel Capitol prepares the rich plum cake every year.

“We use 100kg of dry fruit mixture with red and black currants, dry apples, cherries, cashewnuts, pista and dates. This mixed together prepares about 200kg of cake,” said hotel manager Amit Kapoor.