Thursday, May 10, 2012

Teddy Bear Cake and Other Adventures

I always bake the birthday cakes for my kids from scratch. It's just a memory that I want them to have, Mom's homemade cakes. Since they've been old enough to express their own opinions, I've let them choose what kind of cake they want. I thought they'd merely decide the flavor of the cake and frosting. Maybe they'd go wild and request ice cream cake. I was so naive then!

My forays into cake decorating started out simply enough. When my oldest turned one, I made rainbow colored cupcakes for his little, baby playgroup. The following year, I sketched an icing Elmo onto his cake. Eventually, between the various kids (and my husband) I made cakes with assorted superheroes, flowers, and sayings on them.

K-boy, as the oldest, was the first of the kids to begin unusual cake requests. He focused on flavor and texture, and I was happy to comply. We ate a cake with green chocolate chip cookies on the sides when he turned 11 (he was deep into his Percy Jackson phase). The cookies were supposed to be blue, but try adding blue food coloring to yellow eggs.

Somehow over time, my kids got the idea that I'm capable of the cake masterpieces that dominate Food Network shows.

For my daughter's second birthday, I made her a lovely, two layer cake with pink frosting and purple icing flowers. When M-girl turned three, she decided that she needed a pink, three tier cake....the third tier to reflect her advancement in age. I thought it was cute. Now every year she adds one more layer to her cake wishes. She's eight now. Frosting, it turns out, is not the best mortar for major construction projects. Yeah, next year I need to invest in some dowels to hold the thing up.

For three years running, D-boy wanted a cake shaped like Gordon the blue engine. They don't make cake pans for that. Did you know that Oreo cookies have hidden uses? Last year, Gordon was traveling up a mountain. I became an expert at train cakes.

D-boy turned six this week. I thought maybe he'd want a cake with some Lego Star Wars characters dueling on it. He had nothing so easy in mind. His birthday cake vision was of two Teddy Bears hugging. Not just any two teddies, but his favorites, Bob and Bentley.


In order to uphold my reputation I gave it my best shot. Despite my lack of time, professional equipment, and a small kitchen fire (hint: mini chips will burn much sooner than the regular size ones), the cake came out OK. Actually it looked pretty great, and it tasted delicious.





Now that I'm done wiping powdered sugar off most of my kitchen surfaces, all of the effort was worth it. The best moment was when D-boy looked at the finished cake and proclaimed, "It's amazing!"

Oops, I have to go. M-girl is already putting in her next birthday cake request. I've got to stock up on baking supplies!

linking to: Weekend Bloggy Reading

loving this crazy life

16 comments:

  1. This is awesome! I also am committed to making homemade cakes for each of my children's birthdays though I had not considered asking them to tell me what kind of cake they'd like. And now... I'm a bit scared to do so! ;)

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    1. Oh you should be! Kids have great imaginations and an unwavering belief that their parents can do anything!

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  2. Wow! What a gorgeous cake, it turned out really cute! :)
    I've always bought my kids' birthday cakes, even though I enjoy baking, I am not talented at decorating.

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    1. Thanks! I basically figure out the decorating as I go, since my kids keep coming up with crazy ideas for cake!

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  3. I am IMPRESSED. I feel like I stepped into an episode of Ace of Cakes. Bob and Bentley look adorable in cake form. Job well done!!!

    amy @ whilewearingheels.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks! I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull it off until I did it. Something about D-boy's belief in my ablilities spurred my on!

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  4. I love the hugging teddy bears. This is beyond impressive. Now I want a cake version of my stuffed frog, better get the boy to work!

    Thanks for linking up at What's Cluckin!

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    1. Thanks! I think a frog cake would be adorable!

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  5. This cake is darling!! Thanks for coming to our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday." We would love to see you again next week!! -The Sisters

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  6. Love it! Thanks for linking up to last weeks party! I have another one up and running today. Looking forward to seeing what you have to share.

    http://lovingthiscrazylife-melissa.blogspot.com/2012/05/welcome-to-katie-from-quality-cheap.html

    Hope you're having a great week!

    XO, Melissa

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    1. Thanks! I enjoyed the party and saw lots of great ideas!

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  7. This is sooo cute!!! You did a great job!
    Thanks for linking up! :-)

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    1. Thanks! I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, until it was done.

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  8. I grew up in a home that always backed "from scratch" and I baked a lot as a teenager. When I graduated from college my parents gave me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It won't surprise you to know I wouldn't be quite dead with a purchased or box cake in my house. I too did elaborate birthday party cakes for my 13 and 6 year old. Sometimes I see the photos and cannot believe I did that. While I have used a bunch of different recipes I now only make 1….Martha Stewarts 1 bowl chocolate cake. It is so easy you literally dump everything into a bowl, mix and bake. It tastes….so chocolatey…..so moist….so delicious. You will never go back to any other cake recipes. There is a cupcake and I think sheet cake directions as well at the end of the recipe. It is on her website or her Baking book. I always made Italian or Swiss Meringue Buttercream until I tried her carmel buttercream recipe from the baking book. It is easier and uses brown sugar and butter to give the most amazing flavor…I literally sneak spoons of the left overs for days.

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    1. Oooh, I'll have to look up that recipe and try it. Sounds great!

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