My Cake Repertoire

Cake decorating has become somewhat of a hobby for me. Well, at least it's a once a year hobby. I did it the very first time for the boys' first birthday. And I'm self-taught, no less. I have used a lot of helpful resources along the way, but have never taken any formal classes (though I would like to, in my spare time - HA!). So far, I find cake decorating to be a fun diversion. An exciting challenge. A creative outlet. And a lot of work and stress.

And I can't just seem to make a theme cake and leave it at that. I totally go overboard (ask my mom), and MUST make mini cakes for the kids to each have their very own. It's my thing. And they love it.

This year I branched out. I made cakes for my nephew's 5th birthday party as well as making the boys' cakes for their birthday. It was my first time using a shaped pan (my mom got it at a garage sale, otherwise I would never have bought it). I have to admit, it made the cake decorating a lot easier.

Will I continue the trend? I'm not sure. I'd like to think so. I go to this website and get tons of inspiration and then get all jazzed up about possibilities for next year (beware - you can spend hours looking!). I have my mom on the lookout for more garage sale cake pans. And I've been very pleased so far with the way the cakes have turned out so far (and the reaction people give upon seeing them), so I thought I'd show what all I've done so far. So here they are, in all their sugary splendor:

First birthday cakes for George & Joshua. George with his little cake. And Joshua with his mini cake. This was their first taste of cake, and they ate every last bite of it. Then they had blue poop for 4 days (something I had not anticipated). The 2nd year birthday cakes. This was the practice mini cake, and the lighting was not good in this picture. As you'll see in the next photo, the fish were much brighter orange.
See? That's better. This year they weren't quite as interested in cake. They just wanted to run around and play. They did eat a fair amount, but nothing like the first year. Typical 2-year-old. Here's the underwater scene cake I made for the rest of us. This one is probably my favorite thus far. I actually made those seashells too. And here I am with my masterpiece:

For 3rd birthday cake pics, go here.

My nephew's 5th birthday party cakes:
Black Spiderman (this was the one I used the molded cake pan for).
Spiderman Face Mini Cake

The accompanying cupcakes:

All of the Spidey cakes on the beautifully decorated cake table.
And my nephew with his cake. Does it bother me that he didn't seem to care about it in the first place and only took a bite or two out of it? Not really (I have a theory that he just doesn't enjoy cake that much - at least that's what I'm telling myself). I still enjoyed making it. And looking at it. And blogging it.