Unbirthday Cakes

Last month, we had an Unbirthday Party for my mom's Domestic Science Club meeting.  I made the cakes for the party, and once again learned a lot about the process.  I chose sky blue and rose pink for the colors.  One of the cakes was butter yellow, and the other was chocolate fudge.  I did them in 6" round pans, which was a fun shape and size. 

The biggest lesson learned during this session: don't finish fully-frozen cakes!  I like to freeze my cakes to make it easier to work with them, but since these ones were thicker than usual they didn't defrost as quickly as 9" rounds.  This means that I ended up with shrunken cakes the next day.  Luckily, I had only covered them with a single layer of fondant since I hadn't had time to do the decoration, so I was able to salvage these ones.

The flowers were just strips of fondant, rolled and shaped along the way.  I find that I always have less time for doing the finishing touches than I'd like.  Maybe next time I will remember that and plan ahead!  The white flower was my first attempt at working with gum paste, which was not at all what I expected.  I have some more experimenting and research to do on that front.

Honey and Banana Beehive Cake

My little baby turned one year old this month, and to celebrate we had a little shindig.  I found this Brown-Butter Banana Cake and Honey Buttercream recipe from Zoe Bakes.  It was a little bit more gourmet than usual, but it turned out amazing.  I did use 9" pans instead of 8", so that is why my beehive is a different shape (which I ended up liking better).  I also used part of the batter for the smash cake!

For the smash cake, I used the heart-shaped pan I used for my oldest daughter's Valentine's Day 1st birthday party.  All I did was turn the heart upside-down and decorate it like a honey bee.  I thought it turned out pretty cute.  I do have two small things to consider if you plan to use this recipe for a baby's birthday.  First: Grey frosting is not a great choice.  Second:  Buttercream frosting is greasy.  Allow me to demonstrate:

For the other party treats, I used honey-themed and favorite snacks.  I had some of the marzipan bees leftover from the cake, so I frosted sugar cookies with the leftover buttercream and stuck them on top.  I also tried some candy bar and marshmallow sugar cookies from Family Fun.  They didn't turn out as well as their photos.  I still don't know how they got the wings to look like that.  I guess I cut the marshmallows in half instead of just cutting the ends off?  It was down to the wire and I didn't have a lot of time, so I just left them looking a little weird.

All in all, we had a great time; and the cake tasted great.  It was a sort-of cross between regular cake and banana bread, and it was perfect for a perfect day!

Valentine's Day Birthday Party

Conversation Heart Smash Cake

In honor of Valentine's Day, I will be doing something a little different for today's Feature Friday. I had a Valentine's-themed party for my daughter's first birthday, and I wanted to share some photos of the food, decor, and fun!

Overall Party Vibe

Heart-shaped Bendy Straws and Cello Treat Bags

Candy in Take-out Boxes to Make Your Own Treat Bag

Conversation Heart Cupcakes

This girl know her way around a cake!

Here's the birthday girl playing with her profesh rhythm egg from Uncle T and sporting the personalized shirt I made for her.

Happy Birthday!