Whether it's a birthday, bat mitzvah or graduation, celebrations of every kind have been drastically altered. Venues have closed, gatherings have been nixed, and long-held travel plans have been scrapped.
But if Danielle Claudia is involved, there's one celebration staple you can count on: the cake.
Also known as the Underground Baker, the Binghamton resident has been making special COVID cake deliveries to those who found themselves celebrating milestones in quarantine. As of Wednesday, she delivered nearly 300 cakes since beginning her efforts in mid-April.
These are no ordinary cakes.
COVID cakes come decorated with cake pops, candles — and a fondant face mask.
They also come with a cheery personalized poem penned by Claudia, her friend Erin Thompson Miller and mother Rose Claudia.
"You've got to come up with different ways to do things," Danielle Claudia said. "You can't just stop."
For each delivery, Claudia and Thompson Miller — dressed in Underground Baker T-shirts, tutus, silly glasses and bandana face coverings — honk the horn of their decorated car and blare music as they scream the recipient's name and drop off the cake.
It's a ceremony completed with every cake delivery, bringing light and laughter to a challenging time.
"You don't have to stop celebrating during these times," Claudia said. "You've got to kind of re-invent the wheel and come up with different ways to celebrate and feel happy."
They've brought cakes to bat and bar mitzvahs, graduations and birthdays of any age.
"I have a lot of milestones. I mean 16, 18, 21. Or, I have those 4-, or 5-, 6-year-olds that were planning their very first birthday party, and then they had to cancel it," Claudia said. "So, for me to be able to do that for them, it fulfills me."
Photos of smiling recipients of COVID cake deliveries have flooded social media, along with messages of gratitude.
Apalachin resident Rachel Coker's daughter, Charlotte, had to cancel her bat mitzvah celebration after years of planning and instead opted for a virtual ceremony broadcast over Zoom. Her virtual bat mitzvah was complete with a COVID cake.
More: From Bat Mitzvahs to First Communions, NY families are readjusting rites of passage
"Thanks so much for adding some joy to our celebration of Charlotte's bat mitzvah!" Rachel wrote on the Underground Baker Facebook page. "The cake was gone in minutes, a definite hit all around!"
And Claudia has documented her own journey with cake deliveries, with her Facebook page filled with adventures in weather, hunger and everything in between.
Claudia delivered cakes and other pastries early in her career, founding the Underground Baker in 2010, but stopped once she began working full-time for the Cornell Cooperative Extension. She teaches culinary classes at the Broome County Regional Farmers Market and manages its kitchen.
But once the COVID-19 pandemic caused her classes to be cancelled, Claudia began working from home and filmed cooking videos for the Cornell Cooperative Extension's YouTube page. And when she's not working for the CCE, she's making cakes.
Claudia bakes early in the morning or late evening, and then delivers about eight or nine cakes during the afternoon. She balances this with her job at the Cornell Cooperative Extension and admits that she doesn't get a lot of sleep.
"A lot of espresso gets me through," she said.
She first dreamed up the COVID cake deliveries while sitting at home, watching a car parade drive by for a birthday down the street. It struck a chord with Claudia.
"It emotional, because these poor kids and adults are home and they can't have their family and friends there," she said. "And I'm like, 'That's such a great idea.' And I wanted to somehow be a part of it."
More: Underground Baker goes mobile
So, Claudia took to her social media accounts to offer to decorate her car, bring a cake and be a part of the parades.
"And it just exploded," she said.
Claudia began taking orders on April 18, and completed over 100 orders by May.
She charged $25 per cake at first, but raised the price modestly to a flat rate of $35 after factoring in gas prices and the rising costs of ingredients.
When ordering a COVID cake, customers receive a 6-inch cake, with a choice of white, funfetti or chocolate flavors. They can also choose the color of the buttercream frosting. All cake come with three cake pops on top, plus candles and the signature fondant mask.
There is some room for customizing, with the option of a special unicorn cake that has become quite popular.
Claudia also gives the option of including her cake delivery in a birthday parade, or the delivery only. Depending on the recipient's preference, deliveries may or may not be a surprise.
"We pull up to the person's house or the parade, we jump out, we have music blaring, we're honking, and we run around the car, we scream their name and then we hand them the cake and the poem," Claudia said.
Some recipients laugh, but there are also many tears of joy.
"That means a lot to me," Claudia said. "That it's moving to people, that they can actually feel good for that moment."
Claudia is also offering graduation cakes for those from fifth grade up to college, hosting a mini graduation ceremony during the delivery complete with tassels that read 2020. Graduates receive a cap, tassel and diploma, as well as a cake in their school colors.
At the end of April, Claudia also began offering free cakes for health care providers. She's accepting nominations for health care workers, and chooses one a week.
For these deliveries, Claudia and Thompson Miller arrive in capes and tutus and also present the Health Care provider with a "Certificate of Awesomeness," which also comes with a poem.
The first health care worker receiving one of these special cakes was Sue Lent, an Infection Control Specialist at Lourdes Hospital. Claudia received several nominations for Lent, but chose her not based on the number of nominations received but the stories told.
"They have to force her to go home, she is working hours on top of hours, as you can imagine, for what she does, and jumping to all different hospitals," Claudia said. "She's in and out and she's just been incredible, so we took those stories and we went and gave her a cake, and it was great. She was blown away. And her whole staff came out of the hospital."
To nominate a health care provider, email the Underground Baker's Facebook page: facebook.com/undergroundbakerbing.
And she doesn't confine these special deliveries to just health care workers, but has brought free cakes to those who just need a little cheer.
Claudia imagines her cake delivery business will continue once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, possibly with the option for delivering cookie trays or pies around the holiday season.
But, until then, she's busy driving around town with cakes and a tutu.
"When I look back, what do I want to say I was doing during that time?" she said.
How to place an order:
The Underground Baker bakes cakes for any kind of celebration or just for fun. To make an order, message the Underground Baker's Facebook page: facebook.com/undergroundbakerbing.
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