Before They Grow Up

Hello readers, it's time again for my casual musings. So my younger son James turned 2. We had two small parties and two cakes - Elmo and Cookie Monster. While I can't say he is the biggest Sesame Street fan, he does, however, recognise the furry red monster and the cookie muncher. Nothing is more delightful than hearing your 2-year-old shout out in excitement - "Elmo! Cookie!"

Here are the cakes...

Happy Birthday Jamesy

But I'm not going to wax lyrical about the cakes in this post. As I watch the boys grow from gurgling babies to toddling tots to 3-year-old with an opinion (Jake), I suddenly feel like I'm running out of time.  This precious age of innocence will flash by before they turn into surly teenagers (god help us). We are taking a trip with the boys next month and while I was planning on where to go, it suddenly occurred to me I went from places to see before I have kids, to places to see with your kids before they grow up.

We are fortunate to be able to take the kids on trips. While I lament that with them in tow, it means we'll have to forgo some (nice) restaurants, skip some (cool) museums, forget the pub crawls and night scene and generally keep it kid-friendly, there is a part of me that realises that they are not going to want to travel with us after a certain age. You only have a small window to see the world through their young eyes while they are still filled with wonderment. So that got me thinking, what are the places to see with your kids before they grow up?

Here are some places on my list... in no particular order:

1. Legoland Billund, Denmark
2. Disneyland / Disney World, USA
3. Great Ocean Road, Victoria
4. Great Wall of China, Beijing
5. Terracotta Soldiers, Xi'an
6. Northern Lights, Arctic Circle
7. Big Five, Kenya
8. Las Vegas the husband says no need, you'll always feel like a kid in Vegas
9. Christmas Markets of Europe
10. Vatican City, Rome

I don't know if we'll ever get to some of these places with the boys before they turn 12, well, I have a good decade to work on it. We are checking off one on the list as we head to Melbourne next month! What are some of the places you'd like to see with your kids before they grow up? 

Elmo Revisted

Despite the latest bad press surrounding Elmo and his voice over, you can't take away the fact that the furry red monster is still one of the most loved children's characters of all time, and for me, that won't change no matter what. So I was glad to have the opportunity to make an Elmo cake for a friend and her daughter who celebrated their birthdays together.

A year ago, I started my baking venture and Elmo was one of my first foray into novelty cakes. I made it for Jake's 2nd birthday and back then, I remembered the task to be daunting! I spent 3 days prepping and was thrilled with how Elmo turned out - check out my old post here.

This time, the task was more enjoyable than unnerving and it only took a day. I made three layers of moist chocolate cake, assembled it with rich chocolate ganache and frosted the whole cake with a red-tinted fluffy meringue frosting. Then I cut out a piece of baking paper for the mouth before covering the cake in red fluff, much like what you'd do when painting any special corners or spots.

Frost and peel

Always good for a smile

The eyes and nose were made with fondant. They were easy shapes - 2 round balls for eyes and an egg-like shape for the nose.

Eyes without a face

Then put it all together and there you have it... Elmo :)

Happy Birthday Isabel and Eunice

The Kids Will Love It

Special Cakes

I've never made a novelty cake before but my son Jake loves Elmo so I knew it was a matter of time before he asked for a birthday cake of the furry red monster. I decided to challenge myself and make one for him for his 2nd birthday. My godsis who's an expert baker made one for her daughter and I got all the tips from her. It was good fun to make and a real hit with the kids!

CAKE: Triple layer moist chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and red buttercream frosting

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