Let Them Eat Cake!

Ever since Zoe was born I've had a fascination with cake making for birthdays. Unfortunately while my cakes look pretty good they've never really cut it in the edible department with the majority being consumed by yours truly and the chooks - in that order. This is possibly due to my preoccupation with the professional looking modeled cakes where the main decoration is modelled icing rather than the less professional looking "embellished" cakes adorned with sweeties made to look like something else. I'm working on that and with Logans birthday coming up in less than three weeks I'm hoping I can make something I'm proud of and that will be eaten rather than redistributed to our less than deserving hens!

Zoe's first birthday cake was a lion. Made to fit in the safari theme of her first room (now Logans) it was made from a Wiltons 3D Teddy Bear cake tin (I luckily recoupled half of the $50 I paid for the tin when I onsold it). I made 3 banana cakes (two to test it out) and this was probably the most edible cake I've made for my kids. I then discovered that i can't pipe icing to save my life but it was the start of my love affiar with modelled royal icing. With a little cocoa added to it and then pushed through a garlic press the lions mane was a triumph. (Will load a piccy later from my archives).

Her second birthday cake was a butterfly. Cut from two frozen, double layered sponge cakes and decorated with pink and purple smarties and patches of coloured royal icing.

Her third, continuing with the frozen sponge cake idea and taking into account her preoccupation with spelling her own name, was - her name. The flowers - coloured royal icing - were made weeks in advance as ws the butterfly and the the rather decrepit ladybird. I used green jelly crystals to imitate grass.

Logans first cake was an absolute disaster. To indicate his obsession with wheels I made just that. But instead of keeping it simple and using licorice for the tyres I bought black food colouring which coloured not only our tongues but survived it's trip through our intestines and ... well you can guess.

Zoe's fourth birthday was celebrated in two different ways. First was the zoo outing with her best friend for which the giraffe cupcakes were in order. This was my very first extensive modelling project. I have to hug B, Zoes best friend, the only child I know who would eat my cake - and this was the worst cake ever. I made the actual cake this time, using the recipe from the cake decorating book. Apparently ediblity isn't part of the art as this was dry and awful. It was also thick with royal icing and the giraffe is purely that.

The family celebration cake was a work of art - and only that - the cake was completely inedible and there was a lot more icing than cake anyway. A dress up basket with a little girl hiding in it.

But, impressed with the look of the cupcakes B's mum was more than happy to let me make B's birthday cake. This was my supreme accomplishment - edible and pretty to boot I think I'v finally cracked it LOL. Banana cake is my specialty. It's solid enough to decorate and moist enough to eat. Modelling is great but mix it up with embellishment and you get a rocking cake. The big flowers were supposed to be lollipop trees but I couldn't find any large lollipops (until three weeks after the event) so I stuff cut paper petals into meringue cases. B and her mum LOVED it - and it got eaten!!!

Logan's second birthday is three weeks away and I'm wracking my brains with what to do for him. Needless to say the banana cake is already being prepared for the freezer. If it ain't broke - don't fix it.