JACL Scholarship Dessert Auction

This week I will attend a screening meeting for a scholarship committee I serve on. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me as I get to interview and give out scholarships for Seattle area students with truly unique and inspiring stories. In January, I was on a dessert auction committee that raised money for these scholarships. Thanks to the generosity of many of my friends and family, we were able to raise over $8000 for these scholarships. And, I got to sample some of the best desserts in the NW!

Our committee got over 30 dessert donations from local businesses and community members! Check out this table of delicious treats...

Kyle's mom, Joyce, donated this beautiful chocolate mousse cake from Dessert Works. It was the hit of the night and went for $775!

My dad made his famous New York Cheesecake, which he has made for my birthday every year since I was able to actually eat solid food. One of our committee members had the genius idea to use our Costco and Sam's Club gift certificate donations to purchase wine, rather than desserts, to pair with our live auction items. We paired my dad's rich and creamy cheesecake with this bright and crisp Muscat.

My friend and fellow scholarship committee member, Ali and her friend Julie, made this amazing "Mile High Coconut Cake" that was topped with fresh raspberries. It was so tall it needed wooden sticks to hold it up!

Hiroki's donated this gorgeous green tea tiramisu, that is supposed to be fabulous. We paired it with a light Sauvignon Blanc.

This was an absolute treat and the VIP package. My friend, Michelle Gregoire, was able to secure an autographed bottle of the Governor's Centennial Celebration wine which is currently sold out in stores. We paired the wine with this humongous chocolate cake, some local restaurant gift certificates and an autographed Mariner's baseball. I am fairly certain that the item winners made a little dent in the cake, and took the wine home to keep for a special occasion--maybe a future election night?? Regardless, it was a special treat and I was so thankful to the Governor and my friend for their generosity and help!

This is the tiramisu my table won during the live auction. We actually bid on it because it was paired with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which we figured was worth at least $150 in a restaurant. So really, we were bargain shoppers.

My fellow committee member made this fabulous cheesecake. It was the rich homemade kind that takes all day to make....mmmmm.

Our friend, Maile, made these individual haupia pies. The idea was brilliant as people were able to take them home. Although, they were so good, I don't know how far each pie actually made it past the door!

As usual, we called on Kyle's baking extraordinaire Auntie Cheri to make her fabulous coconut cake. She delivered it to me the morning of the event and it literally felt like a professional bakery as it was professionally packaged and looking deliciously perfect.

I have been trying to improve my baking skills and made the above chocolate 'smore cupcakes. Definitely does not stand up to my favorite Trophy cupcakes, but there is a lot of love in them and that has to count for something, right??

I also made Okinawan purple sweet potato cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes end up becoming a little more dense than a typical cupcake because of the type of sweet potato I use, so the cake tastes more like a muffin. However, with the sweet cream cheese frosting, it ends up being a good mix of not-too-sweet and yet still satisfying for a dessert.

Above is Lil Hayashi who is an integral member of the Seattle Japanese American Community. She is also the Queen of helping us set up and display the desserts.

This is the dessert auction menu. As you can tell, many people donated and helped to make the night a true success and I am so thankful for everyone's support and generosity. I wasn't able to photograph every dessert, so if yours was not displayed above, do not think it wasn't worthy! Every one of your donations are helping to provide valuable educational opportunities for much deserving students.

Happy Eating,

Emi