D-D-D-D-DORA!

So I'm feeling a little sentimental today, and I don't know why.  No, that's not true, I totally know why. It doesn't help matters that Rylee has been so stinking cute these past couple of days, and every time I look at her, I don't see a little baby anymore.  I see a big girl.
But there's one thing that is still my little baby about her, and that is her love of Dora!  For her 3rd birthday, she wanted a Dora party.  So we made Map invitations and delivered them to all our friends, we got a Dora pinata that was size of Rylee, we had quesadillas and chips and salsa, Rylee wore her Dora backpack and Dora hair ties, and most importantly, we had a Dora cake.
When I set out to make this cake, I thought about making Dora, but then realized a Dora head on a platter would be a little too disturbing, except for all of us parents who giggled in delight as our toddlers beat the crap out of the Dora pinata (especially my husband who had to step in and really smack her around to get the candy out).  But Backpack seemed like a good option!  My little Rylee thought so too! And just so she could be represented, we got a Dora candle.
My daughter's birthday isn't for another 5 months, and she is already throwing ideas out there for her party and cake.  My life is going to be full of creating my daughters' fantasies out of buttercream, and I couldn't be happier about that!

I'm jumping on this Thomas bandwagon.

No, I will not be running to the store and stocking up on overpriced trains.  I have been blessed with 2 daughters (so far) and while we should buy stock in princesses and glitter, there is not a train in sight at our house.

But, it has been brought to my attention that there is a whole legion of parents who are willing encourage the obsession of their Thomas-crazed kids.  So I would be crazy to not pimp out these trains made of sugary goodness.  Now if I were really smart, I would take a cue from the manufacturer and not only make one size cake, but several different sizes, like cupcakes!  So not only would the kids want a big cake, but individual cupcakes as well!  Hee hee hee!

The latest obsessor, er I mean little boy, has a deep love for Gordon.  His mom tells me that he has taken up being called Gordon at home!  I think his birth name is darling and completely acceptable, however, he thinks he's more of a Gordon.  So, Gordon it is:

Now before all of you Thomas enthusiasts start yelling at me for the incorrect number (and yes, I was already corrected by Gus' mom) the number 3 is not a typo!  Gordon is in fact number 4, but being that this was for a 3rd birthday, I thought having a 4 on the cake would be misleading, and 'Gordon's' mom agreed - so please calm down!

Based on my knowledge of preschoolers (it's vast!) I have a feeling I'll be making a lot of trains...

Vegetarian Steak

When this cake was ordered, the only instruction I got was it MUST be red velvet and the birthday boy was a vegetarian.  Because my mind immediately goes to sarcasm and irony in every situation, all I could think of was steak.  Luckily birthday boy has a sense of humor and went with it!

I'm a recovering vegetarian, and rarely do I want to take a bite out of raw steak, but this one was definitely tempting.

Once Upon A Time....

In a land not so far away, there was a little girl named Siena. For her third birthday she wanted nothing more than to be a fairy in her own magical land. Since I only have magical powers in the kitchen, I threw some powder sugar fairy dust in a bowl and viola!

I thought this sweet little white chocolate fairy looked like Siena, so I made this her mushroom palace.

Another chocolate fairy (my daughter likes to think this one is her) is lost in the meringue mushroom cluster!

This cake did not start out well at all. It became one of those moments where I started rethinking offering to make cakes for my friends, because I might end up on cakewrecks. My oven and I were having a domestic dispute, and it got so heated that the gas company almost had to be called. After taking a cooling period (literally let the cakes cool overnight) I came back to it the next day and we worked things out, with the help of some buttercream. I've learned over and over, that much like a glass of wine, there's nothing that a little (or a lot) of frosting can't fix.

Happy Birthday Siena!

Cupcake Cake Take 2

I have a wonderful daycare that my 18 month old goes to and my 3 1/2 year old went to for the year before preschool. The owner is like family to us, so when she wanted a cake for her sister, I was more than happy to oblige. She first told me that her sister was a singer, so it needed to be something musically related. My first thought was - microphone, I'll build a microphone! But then she saw the giant cupcake and said she must have that, but still musically related.

Hmmmmm...

The ambitious woman in me still wanted to do the microphone, but maybe put it on the top of the cake. Somehow I couldn't wrap my mind around how that would turn out, so I had to convince myself it was okay to do a simple cake.

The day before I was to give it to her, she gave me the spelling of her sister's name. Now, you might have noticed that blatantly missing from all of these cakes is piping, especially when it comes to writing. Give me a challenge to carve or decorate, and you got it, but ask me to write someone's name on a cake? Deer in headlights. (My wonderful friend J recently took me to a decorating/piping class for Christmas, to help with my phobia, but that's a story for another day...maybe). Anyhow, she was dead set on having her name on there, so I improvised. And really if I were her sister, I would be psyched to have my name in chocolate, instead of some boring old piping! Sidenote - hilarity (and almost tears) ensued when I pulled the letters out of the fridge and dropped them directly on the floor, sending shards of chocolate through the air. Good thing it was cold out, because that second batch didn't get much time in the fridge!

Now, many have asked me if I use the cupcake cake mold, and to that I say - why would I spend $30 and waste kitchen space on something that is so easily carved? I can't speak from experience, because I haven't used one, but I'm having a hard time imagining the center being cooked properly without the outsides getting a little dark, don't you think? Besides, most of the fun of making the cake is starting with a blank pallet. Not to mention, eating the scraps from cutting down the cake is really the best part about making a cake, and is a must in my house. That is the only way my husband tolerates my spending the weekend baking something he cannot eat. Especially when that something is red velvet - such as this cake.

There were a few things that were not ideal though about carving this cake. I discovered that while red velvet is tender and delicious, it's really not that much fun to carve. In fact, it's damn near frustrating. I would recommend to anyone using red velvet for anything other than a circular cake to make sure you give it proper time to cool in the fridge. Between my day job and my kids, I rushed this one along, and almost paid the price - of making a whole new set of cakes. And, on the same note, while cream cheese frosting is absolutely d-lish and so easy and fun to decorate with, it too needs extra time in the fridge, or you might have a sliding mess on your hands. Also, dowels are your friend.

From what it sounds like, the cake was well received, and that's really what matters!

Monster Cupcakes

I don't have the words or energy to describe my neighbor's son. By the time I get done with this post, he'll probably already be a different kid, or at least have run 10 laps around the house. I needed to make something that would make even a kid like him, stop in his tracks long enough to say 'COOL!'

These monster cupcakes did just that and he even immediately picked out my favorite one! These were delivered at 7am and were promptly devoured. It was okay though - the sugar rush was being followed by Disneyland!

***I must give credit where credit is due, and I would like to personally thank Martha Stewart (or more likely someone on her staff) for the inspiration, and my darling husband for his participation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, so I know this is a wee bit late, but better late than never, right?

This year I have much to be thankful for.

I by no means live a life of luxury, but even in my most difficult of hours I need to remind myself that I do have much to be thankful for. I am thankful for the pie in the above picture, and the 150 cookies I made for my daughter's preschool below, my new stove, my beautiful kids, my mixer, sugar, butter...But in all honesty, while everyone in my life has in one way or another brought me to where I am today, there are 2 people that I need to express ultimate gratitude.

First, my loving, yet sometimes aggravating husband. We've had our share of ups and downs this year, but when we needed him most, he came through. A year ago, we had a newborn and a toddler and he lost his job to the company that we were vesting our life into, because of the economy, and then lost another job a few months later. Instead of just giving up or settling, he busted his butt working long hours, breaking his back, just so we could have a roof over our heads. At the time I could not see this as a blessing, effectively being a single parent to 2 very young kids while having a job of my own. At that time, you couldn't have convinced me that it was good, even if he making a million dollars. But now seeing how he is able to thrive in this hand that he's been dealt, and even find a way to make more money and get our insurance covered, I realize that what took others before him years, he found a way to do in months. And he did it for us. For that I am grateful.

Second, I'll just call this person J. You know who you are. This is a friend of mine without whom I don't know where my mind would be today. She has been there to console me through the hard times, and also to remind me that I can choose how I react and many of my problems are only real in my mind. There's nothing better than a good friend to tell you when you are wrong. She has made me hold myself accountable for my choices, and as much as I hate it when she takes away my excuses, I love her for it. Also, she loves being the recipient of the many cookies and cakes that come out of my house, so it's a pretty harmonious thing.

Obviously I have many more blessings than just these 2 people, but this is called a blog, not a novel, so that's what you get...for today.