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UAE largest charity cake sale at Mall of the Emirates

The 750-metre long stollen charity cake was prepared by a team of twelve chefs

A tradition established twelve years ago in Dubai has returned to the emirate in a bigger way and has the noble cause of charity attached to it. Friday marked the return of the UAE's largest charity cake sale at the Mall of the Emirates - in partnership with Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates - that is expected to raise more than Dh100,000 for charity.

The 750-metre long stollen charity cake was prepared by a team of twelve chefs from Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, under the leadership of Sudqi Naddaf, executive chef at the hotel, who spent almost 60 days preparing and baking the German cake around the clock to create the largest string of stollen made to-date.

The cake - in form of 60cm loaves - was placed in the mall's Central Galleria from 10am onwards with the goal of selling a record amount. While one whole stollen loaf was priced at Dh100, visitors could also buy just a slice of the cake for Dh5.

All proceeds from the sale were handed over to the Emirates Red Crescent and will be used to provide essential support promoting humanitarian work on both domestic and international levels.

"We have used more than 2,210 eggs, 600kg of flour, 278 kg of raisins and 55kg of marzipan to create this mouth-watering delicacy. Moreover, 120kg of lemons and 131kg of oranges were zested, giving a burst of citrus flavor.

Our team worked round the clock in shifts for the preparation of the cake. This was baked in batches and it had to be split in loaves. The cake was preserved in butter and its ingredients act as self preservatives therefore it can be preserved up to three months from the production date."

Tim Albermann, a German tourist, who came to the mall for lunch, bought ten loaves of the cake just to gift a piece of German tradition to the people who helped him during his stay in Dubai. " "

"It is a German traditional cake and serves as the perfect gift for the employees of the hotel where I am staying in return of their hospitality. I could have given the staff of my hotel money but I think giving them a piece of my German traditional cake will make them feel nice. Also, I liked the idea of charity behind it and that was mainly the reason why I bought it," Tim told Khaleej Times.

"Our one-day annual stollen cake sale not only was for a good cause but also served as a team building fun activity for our staff as about 50 people from different departments - finance, front office, housekeeping - all came together to sell the cake," said Steffen Opitz, Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates manager told Khaleej Times.

Mohammad Abdullah Al Haj Al Zarouni, manager of Emirates Red Crescent said, "In this 'Year of Giving', we pledge continuous assistance and thank Mall of the Emirates and Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates for their continuous support towards Emirates Red Crescent's projects, particularly in the field for Special Needs and will be used to provide essential education and therapy, as well as assisting parents with annual fees. Through this charitable initiative, we can raise awareness about the condition and provide moral and monetary support to Special Needs"

As part of the Annual Stollen Charity Cake Sale, visitors also enjoyed a number of musical and dance performances and also and occasional visit from Santa Claus.

- saman@khaleejtimes.com