In Gujranwala, a 5,000-pound heavy cake was cut on Thursday to celebrate Eid Miladun Nabi (PBUH).
The cake was prepared under the supervision of Sir Syed Ali Hussain Shah, caretaker of the Hasan Parwana Pir Chaddarwali Sarkar shrine. Shah told The Express Tribune that no artificial colours had been used in the cake. It was prepared with fruits, cream and dry fruits. He said it took a team of 20 bakers 10 days to prepare the cake.
He said bakers from Karachi and Gujranwala had travelled to Multan to work on the cake with a team of local bakers.
It was prepared with 6,000 eggs, 650 kilograms of desi ghee, 520 kg flour, 430 kg sugar and hundred of kilograms of apples, bananas, pineapple and dry fruit. He said it had been made with the money donated for the purpose around the year.
Thousands of people gathered to watch the cake-cutting ceremony at the shrine.
Last year, a 65-pound cake was baked for Eid Milad.
In Faisalabad, a 5,544-pound cake will be cut on Friday (today) to mark Rabiul Awal 12.
Residents of Lehlan village cut a 63-maund cake every year. The cake weighs specifically 63 maunds for the Prophet’s (PBUH) 63 years age.
The bakers said that the preparations began on Rabiul Awal 1 and people from across the village helped them decorate the cake. They said this year, the 16-level cake has been given a green colour and has been covered with layers of khoya and fruit jam. Thousands of kilograms of sugar and flour are used along with thousands of eggs to prepare the cake. It has been decorated with edible flowers and has replicas of the Prophet’s (PBUH) footprint.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.