Panda Cakes
Posted at 2:14 pm August 3, 2009 by Debbie Andreen
Su Lin
What a party we had this morning to celebrate two birthday girls! Su Lin’s 4th birthday was yesterday, August 2, and her little sister Zhen Zhen turned two today. As is tradition, each birthday panda received a tiered ice caked filled with their favorite treats (apples, carrots, and bamboo) and drizzled with tempting honey!
Zhen Zhen
Zhen Zhen received her cake first at 9:10 a.m. She tentatively licked and chewed at the three-tiered cake with a big pink “2″ on the top before turning to her “presents,” blue-green boxes filled with special panda biscuits. Su Lin entered her exhibit a few minutes later to enjoy her cake; it had a larger, sturdier base and two tiers. Sweet Su went quickly for the big “4″ on top while eager visitors and staff took photos of the happy occasion.
Zhen seems to be admiring her cake.
Many of you have already sent your compliments to the staff that created these iced treats for our special gals. Although the entire Forage Warehouse crew played a part, I’d like to give special recognition to Kelly Lee and Debbie Lowe. After planning the cakes’ designs, Kelly and Debbie began pouring, molding, and freezing the stars, hearts, and other shapes, then slowly adding the treats as the water chilled, a process that took about two weeks! Many of the frozen pieces contained food coloring, which made for some very festive cakes indeed. I think the results were well worth the effort. And it seemed like Su and Zhen thought so, too!
Debbie Andreen is an associate editor for the San Diego Zoo.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Happy Birthday Su Lin & Zhen Zhen! It was a joy watching both of you eating your “cakes”!
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Happy Birthday to our beautiful girls, Su Lin and Zhen Zhen!! The cakes are simply divine and I want to add my compliments to those responsible. And, as always, heartfelt thanks to everyone at SDZ who make this wonderful sharing of our pandas world possible!
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Our girls were so cute with their yummy cakes, it was a pure joy to see them on the webcam.
Happy Birthday to my sweet Su Lin and my so funny Zhen Zhen!! Love you both!!!
Sophie
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
It was wonderful to watch the Pandas so excited over their cakes and trying to figure out how to eat them! They were absolutely delighted! The cakes were gorgeous, too! What clever ideas you keepers always come up with for the zoo animals! I can’t remember which bear it was, but one of them sat on top of their cake. I will try that out on my next birthday!
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Happy Birthday, sweet girls! Those beautiful cakes looked ever so yummy. They were truly works of art. I could tell that a lot of love went into those wonderful cakes.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:48 pm
ZZ looked like a circus bear on top of her cake! She was so cute! Great camera work and once again, GREAT CAKES!!! Congratulations you two sweet girls and many happy returns!!
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Looks like it was a great party and that a good time was had by all – our birthday girls anyway but I am sure it was a lot of fun for the spectators as well. Thanks for the great pics for those of us who can’t attend. Looking forward to the video as well. I just bet that Debbie and Kelly felt warm and fuzzy all over watching the girls enjoy their frozen treats so much.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Beautiful cakes!
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Those “Panda Cakes” were so beautiful! I’ve never seen such pretty little icy fruit cakes for our pandas ever. SDZ’s Forage Warehouse really outdid themselves this year.
Happy Birthday to our baby girls! Though they’re hardly babies anymore, I’m glad they had a wonderful time today.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SU LIN!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZHEN ZHEN!
I LOVE YOU BOTH SO VERY MUCH!
Thank you SDZ for giving them all the loving care their precious species deserves.
Wasn’t Susie’s little blue nose adorable?
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Was great to see the girls eating their cakes….I want my birthday cake to look that yummy. Thanks to the many people who were busy with the birthdays.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Those cakes were awesome, a true work of art. Thanks to all for their hard work. Su was a bit more adept at getting what she wanted off the cakes. ZZ made her first try rather tentatively and then went to eat some bamboo but she came back later to get her licks in.
Thank you SDZ for making our girls birthday so wonderful and delicious.
Happy Birthday Su Lin and ZZ and may there be many, many more.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I finally caught the birthday parties this year. =) It was a delight to watch ! Happy Birthday Ladies !!
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Happy Birthday and many more blessed ones to these panda girls! Yay, baby girls!
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Happy bithday girls!
WOW!!! Those cakes were AWESOME! I can’t believe the work they put into them! Special treats for special girls!
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Happy Birthday Su Lin and Zhen Zhen. It was great to watch you with your beautiful ice cakes and presents. Thanks to the people who make the cakes. Great job.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:52 pm
My birthday is in January, hint, hint!
Love the pics of the girls enjoying their cakes. Good job ALL of you at SDZ, especially Kelly and Debbie.
And thank you for sharing the girls’ and their BDs with us.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Hey Su Lin and Zhen Zhen
Happy Birthday to you both hope you have many many more
Hope to come down and visit again real soon
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Happy Birthday girls!! How adorable!!
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Bravo! Bravo! to Kelly and Debbie. The cakes were the most beautiful yet. Wish I had been able to see more than a few minutes of the girls enjoying them. I wish even more that I had been there to watch. Zhen Zhen looked rather timid about hers at first, then attacked from the sides. Su Lin sneaked up on hers from behind, then licked her way up to the top, where she grabbed the pink ‘4′ and began chewing on that.
I logged into Memphis Zoo late this afternoon. Apparently Ya Ya got her birthday cake early. I never got a clear view of the bear, (big post in the way), but judging from the beautiful ears it was Ya Ya. Her birthday is not until Sunday Aug. 9. She was very diligently finishing her cake, which was mostly gone except for a big ice ball, lots of fruit slices, and melted juice on the floor!
We still have more birthdays this month in Atlanta, don’t we?
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Watching both Su Lin and ZZ this afternoon, they both seem all tuckered out from this morning’s festivities…they are always laying their heads on branches or bumps on the rocks….maybe we should have gotten them pillows for their birthdays, me thinks they would be much softer for their sweet heads to lay on.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Happy Bearday to the Yun-Gao sisters, Sweet Su Lin and Zany Zhen Zhen! My wish for Susie is a lovely panda boyfriend someday, and for Zee to keep growing into a wonderful, beautiful panda lady! The cakes look beautiful, too! And here’s hoping that next year you both will be celebrating your beardays with a widdle brudder(s) or sister(s)!
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I got a good look at Miss Precious a few minutes ago, still working on the big stalks of bamboo. She must have had a ball with her cake, and remnants thereof, because she is one dirty little birthday girl!
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
happy b-day to our special little girls. May you grow up to be as pretty and big as your mama but as adorable and smart as your papa.
To SDZ staff
Thanks for all the hard work you guys put in for the pandas. It must have been a lot of work having to preparing the girls for their birthday while watching bai during her pregnancy stage, and of course taking care of that handsome, gaogao. Thanks again for all the hardwork. Tried not to stress too much
PS the cakes are beautiful just like the girls
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Happy birthday to ALL the birthday girls (Su Lin, ZZ, and Ya Ya)! Each of you is so special. I wish you could know how much happiness you – and your families – bring to all of us.
A HUGE round of applause to the talented cakemakers! Those cakes were a work of art.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Thank you SDZ! Su Lin and Zhen Zhen had a wonderful day. Those cakes were amazing – great work Kelly, Debbie and everyone else of the crew. I am so lucky I got to watch cams all day today – love those panda girls.
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I read Suzanne’s latest blog, but the text box to make a comment below is missing ! I keep refreshing it and still no box…maybe you’d like to slow down the comments? ha ha, just kidding, you are just WONDERFUL the way you let us yak on and on as we wait with you (but we get to sleep more, probably)
Now that the girls’ bdays are going bye bye the new little one can come out! Come out Right Cubbie, we already love you!!
thanks again everyone for the entertainment and fun, now more waiting….
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Wow – what cakes our girls had –
Your cakemakers are are special.:) I did get to see the cakes but had to leave before the girls enjoyed them 
Can’t wait for the video – the photos are great.
It’s hard to believe SuLin is 4 & our baby Z is already 2.
In the panda world it’s too bad that the Memphis pandas are mostly ignored by many of us.
Am still doing a panda dance & watching mama Bai for another miracle.:)
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Happy Birthday Su Lin and Zhen Zhen!!
Pandaholics everywhere are celebrating your adorable fuzziness. What fun it was to see you enjoying your cakes so much. As a cake decorator myself, my hat is off to the creators of such lovely birthday treats. They were both spectacular! I sure have never made a cake that the birthday star(s) could lay over and have it still look that great when they got off.
How fitting it is that while we celebrate our girls’ birthdays, their Mommy is working to bring them a new sibling. The dedicated and loving keepers must be so proud to be able to have a hand in such miracles. Thank you for keeping our beloved panda population moving in the right direction! And what a wonderful Mom Bai Yun is not only for raising such beautiful babies, but also for spreading such joy all over the world.
Happy Birthday you sweet little girls!
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Kelly and Debbie…You’re awesome! I admire your creativity and dedication! Your cakes were gorgeous!
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Hi
I was just wondering now that Su Lin is 4 has there been any talk of her being returned to China? Thanks TC
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Hi! Both of the cakes looked awesome, you all! The cake makers did a great job on these ice cakes, and they looked very pretty for the birthday panda girls. ZZ was the funny one when she got to her cake. She did some sniffing, licking, looking at it, tried to get some of the treats out of it, then turned her attention to the little snackies on the small stump and her birthday presents. Then, to my surprise, she went right for the bamboo pile! She picked up a large thick stalk, smelled it, put it down, and went after the pile and started eating her breakfast! Then, the cam switched to Miss Su, and she went to the cake right off the bat. She also did the sniffing, licking of the cake, then started in on how to get some of those treats out of it. I had some laundry going in the laundry room, so going back and forth between there and my apartment, I kept my puter on the pandacam so that I could see what these girls were up to next. They were trying their little tricks to get at the boo stalks that were holding their cakes together. Later on after I finished with my laundry, I looked at the cam, and Su Lin finally figured out how to get at the boo by smashing the cake on the ground! I think ZZ did the same thing because she was really trying to figure out how to get at the boo leaves inside the ice cake! Anyway, they were having their birthday fun and enjoying their day despite an earthquake that hit Baja Cal later in the day! I don’t think they felt it, tho. They were more interested in their own things. I am surprised that none of you at SDZ felt the 6.9 quake. Anybody at WAP feel it today?
Cake makers, you all did a great job on those birthday cakes, and those cakes kept Su and ZZ really busy for quite a long time today! Give yourselves a big pat on your backs for a job well done!
Now, back to the cam to check in on Bai. She is still keeping us in suspense about when she’ll have her baby panda! UGH!!!! Will keep on watching her when you have the cam on her!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:20 pm
happy birthday, my dearie su and zz… watching they were enjoying the beautiful iced caked all the way yesterday… that’s great fun
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Wow, my birthday cakes have never looked so good! Kudos to the Forage Warehouse crew yet again!
August 4th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Anyone who takes two weeks to make a cake, in my eyes, is a STAR. Well done everyone involved in the cakes (and that also includes the pandas, who ate them!).
August 4th, 2009 at 3:23 am
I made a mistake (imagine that!) in stating Ya Ya’s birthday is August 9. It was Monday, August 3. I was corrected by the Memphis Zoo staff. (oops!) I don’t know why I have that date down as her birthday. My apologies to Ya Ya, who seemed to have really enjoyed her ice cake today. (Wish I could have seen it before she ate most of it.)
August 4th, 2009 at 5:47 am
I started to watch the panda cams about a month ago and I am hooked! Every time I view them, it brings a smile to my face. Watching them enjoy their Birthday Cakes yesterday was the cutest thing I have ever seen…very enjoyable… for both them and us viewers! What a great job you all do…greatly appreciated! Happy Birthday to Su Lin and Zhen Zhen!!
August 4th, 2009 at 5:50 am
This just proves where all the talented people are, Kudos to all the people in the forage especially Debbie and Kelly for their part in making the beautiful ice cakes and to the keepers who make sure our bears are taken care of and kept entertained with all kinds of enrichment items. Our girls sure loved those cakes. Madame Bai, your big day is just around the cornor and we are all excited for the newest arrival to come and join the family, so come on and lets bring on that bunde of joy.
August 4th, 2009 at 6:44 am
Happy Birthday Su Lin & Zhen Zhen.
August 4th, 2009 at 7:21 am
Happy Birthday, panda girls!
August 4th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Debbie and Kelly, you have really outdone yourselves! What beautiful cakes for two beautiful girls. When the cakes were put down they looked rather heavy to me. What was the weight of one of those?
I have just watched the video of the two birthday girls. It was georgeous and most hilarious. I am not as clued up as most of you pandaholics but when having a closer look at Zhen Zhen I felt that she resembles her daddy a lot whereas Su Lin looks more like Bai Yun. Am I right?
As all of you I am checking the web cam now and then in order not to miss the big event. I am getting very excited and hope that good old Bai is not going to keep us in suspense much longer….
August 4th, 2009 at 9:12 am
#35 Dianne…Until I received keeper notes from MZ, I, too, thought that Ya Ya’s special day was August 9. The zoo celebrated her birthday on August 9 one year and I had mistakenly assumed that that was her birthday and wrote it down as such. Don’t feel bad!
August 4th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Diane #36: Welcome to our ever-expanding panda family. This is a very exciting time in Panda Canyon. The more you watch these wonderful creatures, the bigger smiles you will have; then, when you become familiar with their childlike antics, you will be laughing out loud.
Hope you have discovered the panda cams in the 3 other zoos. They are wonderful too. Now, with Bai Yun expecting any day now, the wonders escalate and new antics of a little baby panda are guaranteed.
August 4th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
every year the Ice Cake comes out beautiful! the memorable thing was for me when su lin had her 4th yr in her hand and it keep slipping away..and how she managed to get it..she is sooo cute!!! well they both are beautiful !! sigh I just love them!
August 4th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
The girlie cakes were so cute, especially in person!
Did Su and Zhen get their second cakes Tuesday? Do you have photos of these too?
Moderator’s note: We don’t have photos of the second-round of cakes.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Happy Birthday to Sun Lin and Zhen Zhen!
Moderator: How long will Su Lin stay at San Diego Zoo before heading back to China?
Moderator’s note: The San Diego Zoo is working with Chinese colleagues to send Su Lin to China where she can be placed in a breeding program. These arrangements often take some time to plan as well as acquire the necessary permits, and at this time we do not know when she will be leaving San Diego.