A Practice Cake

This cake pan was originally purchased for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. But let’s be honest, I was too ‘chicken’ to try it. So, before her 5th birthday, when I really would be making this cake, I wanted to try my hand at it. It was the first time I’d ever worked with fondant and I discovered that even though the stuff is NASTY to taste…it is wicked awesome to play with!

Considering it was my first attempt, I thought she turned out great, but the actual birthday cake I made a few days later, left this one in the dust!

3rd Birthday

This is an example of a “quickie” cake–and honestly, it’s one of my most used secrets! You’ll see it again later, here! What this is (and how it’s quick), it’s the 3D Football Pan from Wilton, decorated and sitting atop a sheet cake ordered from Costco. I know, it’s cheating, but for $14 you can’t make this size of a sheet cake with a filling and super cute piping!! I ordered it as a blank cake with “Happy Birthday Barrett” centered at the bottom of the cake, giving me plenty of room to place the football (bursting forth) from the upper portion of the cake. So cute! So cheap! So easy!

Grayson’s 6th Birthday

This is my first “production” cake! Yeah, there is A LOT goin’ on with it. Grayson wanted a something to do with dinosaurs, and being the cake novice that I was back then, this is what I came up with. A few posts up from here you saw this. I originally purchased this cake pan to make the Princess cake for my daughter’s 3rd birthday, but I chickened out. The volcano put the pan to good use.

Since it’s a diorama of sorts, the lava was created using the Valentine Oreos (with the red cream) crushed up to look like molten lava river through the green dyed coconut. The palm trees are made with the “straw” cookies with palm shaped fruit roll up cut outs for the tops. There are even dino shaped sugar cookies (not frosted well), but the coolest part of this little scene…the 6 candle on top of the volcano is a sparkler. It was the “erupting” moment of the whole evening!

Barrett’s 1st Birthday

This is the 3D Teddy Bear cake pan from Wilton, and it’s my favorite pan for two reasons. First, it holds a TON of sentimental value to me. When I was 12 my mom was in the hospital on my birthday and my sister piped me this cake (as a panda bear) to cheer me up. I was taken with cake decorating ever since. And secondly…you can make this cake into ANYTHING! I’ve made it into a puppy and a bunny, but I’ve also seen it made into a dragon and a cat. The possibilities are endless!

This was for a first birthday party. The baby’s birthday was on October 26th, and it was a costume party. So of course, the cake had to come in costume as well!

Jake’s 4th Birthday

This cake is up just to show my humble beginnings! I am completely self taught. I’ve always wanted to sign up for one of those “cake decorating” classes offered at the local hobby shop, but with four kids and a work-a-holic husband…I’ve never found the time!

This was a cake made for my oldest son’s fourth birthday party.  Can you tell…we went bowling.   This was the first time I tried the ‘mini’ 3D effect with the bowling ball rising slightly out of the center of the cake.  I thought it was clever, but the main accomplishment was that it was still a bowling ball, without drawing attention to the fact that I was too inept to get both sides of the ball to stick together without looking dorky!  (But that’s our little secret!)