Angry Birds Birthday Cake

My first baby turned 7 three weeks ago.  I still cannot believe that I should be old enough to have a 7 year old.  I said this just a month and half ago with my daughter… time just goes by way to quickly.

It really is fun to watch him grow and change.  He is still that sweet little boy, but at times tries to play tough and act to cool for certain things. 

He wanted an Angry Birds birthday cake.  I searched high and low looking for Angry Bird cake ideas.  I ended up combining several ideas that I saw.  I think it turned out pretty cool!  He would definitely NOT want me to say cute!  He would say AWESOME! 

I used two 12x18 layers and made all of the birds out of Marshmellow Fondant.  I ended up making the tower out of Rice Krispy treats and covered them with grey fondant.  I would strongly suggest the Rice Krispy treats as a good base.  I used fondant at first and it would not hold it’s shape. 

It is always a fun and stressful day when making and putting together birthday cakes!  But we are creating lots of fun memories to share!

 

 

Enjoy!

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4 years old…already?

My little girl turned 4 two weeks ago.  I say this every year, but I wonder how come life seems to be flying by so quickly.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the little ones.  It saddens me to see my little ones grow up so fast.

She has the cutest and sweetest personality.  She is always saying something funny!  I love that about her!  Such sweet innocence!

One of my favorites lately is to hear her say, “Mama, I want to wear a BEAU-TI-FUL dress!”  She exaggerates the BEAUTIFUL part!  Of course, I eat this up!  I love to doll her up in cute girlie clothes! 

So of course my little princess had to have a Disney Princess Birthday Party!  At her request, she wanted a princess cake.  Goodness, I have noticed that the cakes tend to get more involved each year!  But, I would do it again to listen to and see her expression when the cake was complete!

“Oh Mama, I LOVE IT!”  All morning long she watched and asked when she could put the princesses on the cake.  She was super excited when I told her it was time for her to put the princesses on.

Here is the finished castle cake.

 

I used the Wilton Castle Cake set.  This was a first, but I was not sure I would be able to pull off a standing castle without it!  I was happy that it turned out so cute!

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6th Birthday Party

My 1st baby turned 6 a couple of weeks ago! Of course, like I said with my 3 year old...It is bittersweet! I remember holding him and cuddling with him like it was just yesterday! It is almost scary how time flies so very fast! This past year has been a year of many "firsts" for him. Here are a few!

First year of Kindergarten..

First time to play a real organized sport..soccer

First time to perform on stage for school plays...

First time to go on field trips...

First time to ride on a school bus...

First 'real' school pictures...

First report card..

And there will be many more 'firsts' to follow!

Here is a picture of the cake I made for Landon's 6th Birthday. He wanted a Mario cart birthday cake. I think this turned out pretty good! It was a very crazy morning with alot of stuff going on at once! I am just thankful it turned out with all that CRAZINESS going on!

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant

On my latest birthday cake I used this Wilton recipe to make Marshmallow Fondant. It was actually much easier than I would have originally guessed. I had been meaning to try out the recipe weeks before actually needing it; but my time slide by way to fast! SO...I tried this for the first time on Saturday morning...Umm..Yah..Like as in the same morning I started decorating the cake! (I am just thankful, all went well..or I would have really regretted that.)

I read numerous comments of people saying to use your big mixer if you had one. So that is exactly what I did. I melted the marshmallows and then plopped all of them and the powdered sugar into my Kitchen Aide Mixer. It worked beautifully! (almost to easy!) Sorry, I do not have actually pictures of the process. If I make it again, I will definitely take the time to take a few pictures!

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Rolled-Marshmallow-Fondant

Ingredients:

· 1 package (16 ounces) white mini marshmallows (use a good quality brand)

· 2-5 tablespoons water

· 2 pounds (about 8 cups) sifted confectioners' sugar

· 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

Makes:

About 2 pounds marshmallow fondant.

Instructions:

To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 1/2 minutes).

(This is where I just put everything into the mixer.)

Place 3/4 of the confectioners' sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter GENEROUSLY; turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners' sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.

(After taking it out of the mixer I did knead it a little.)(Use well greased hands!)

It's best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.

When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick.

(I also colored mine after mixing it all up..a bit messy but it works if you need several different colors.)

To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners' sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party

My baby turned 3 on Monday. Where does the time go?!?! We finally decided that we would have a Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party; or as she says.."Strawberrwe Orkcake". I posted earlier about how I came to start making birthday cakes. You can read that post here if you would like! http://littlesprinklesoffun.blogspot.com/2011/03/cakes-cakes-and-more-cakes.html

Anyway...Strawberry Shortcake...

I always look around on-line to find some inspiration. I had several cakes that I found and loved! This cake was a combination of a few of them. It turned out so cute, I really hated to cut and serve it!

In the end...the cake was eaten, presents were opened, memories were made and fun was had by all! Now all that is left is one tired and exhausted mama! What a fun and memorable 3rd Birthday! :)

Cakes, Cakes and More Cakes

It is about that time again! It is time for me to start thinking about Birthday parties! My little girl will be 3 in April and my son will be 6 in May. Oh how time flies! :(

I usually try to starting putting cake and theme detail together about a month or so in advance. April is rapidly approaching and it has not been decided what my little girls party will be. Her thoughts and ideas....Ponies, "Straberry Orkcake", Tinkerbell. Of course with a 2 year old, it is never the same answer. So goal for the week is to determine which one for birthday #3.

A little background into my reign as Birthday Cake Maker Extraordinaire!(only joking...I do NOT claim this title at all!...the whole cake decorating thing stresses me out a little!)

My mom always made birthday cakes for my sister and I. I remember her getting up early on birthday morning..rarin' to go! (okay not always fully awake, but ready to make us a fun, cute cake) She would squeeze out those tiny little stars until her hand was about to fall off. Of course what child truly appreciates all that effort. I loved the cakes and thought it was pretty cool that my mom could produce such wonderful cakes.

Fast forward to my sons first birthday:

As I got older, I said..."When I have kids I will just buy their cakes."

I went shopping months in advance to find the perfect 1st birthday cake for my son. I was kind of disappointed in the lack of variety and the cost. UGH!

I did what I said that I would not! :) I decided on a theme and proceeded to attempt to make his 1st birthday cake. It was like on Cake Boss...me leading with my ideas and visions and my mom assisting me in the endeavor.

I had decided to make a cute little yellow duck. The duck was sitting in a pool of water.

Let me just say, we had a crazy, exhausting and fun bonding time that we will never forget. As the years have past, I have enjoyed creating their birthday cakes year after year. My mom is still my assistant and is usually the encourager. I have this tendency to get a little stressed in the middle of it. Thinking...I am really not sure this one is going to turn out. But, they have always turned out better than I would have ever thought possible.

The Infamous Duck:

A couple of cakes from previous years:

I will update when we have decided on a cakes for this year!