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? 

Another year older

My son turned 3 last week... where did the time go!? I remember last year this time, I was making one of my very first novelty cakes – an Elmo cake for Jake's 2nd birthday! Then 8 months later, my younger son James got a two-tier fondant Thomas the Train cake. And all the cakes made between then and now for good friends and new friends have been such an amazing experience! I'm constantly thankful for being able to stay home with my boys while pursuing my passion for baking.

So what did Jake get this year... well, he didn't get just one cake, he got three!

Cake No.1 

Here comes the rainbow train...

I made a simple round cake and covered it in baby blue fondant. Inside is Jake's favourite rainbow cake; multi-coloured layers of vanilla butter cake with cream cheese frosting! I found an amazing train candle holder that I know Jake would love to have on his cake. It's a great toy too since you can chain link all the trains - it comes in 5 colours! Then M&Ms for the border and a happy face on his cake. It was simple enough but oh so fun to look at and play with after.

Happiness in a cake

Cake No.2

Thomas and friends

Trains and tunnels

There is no running away from a Thomas the Train cake. Jake's love for Thomas is still as fervent as ever so it would be unthinkable to not make a Thomas cake for his birthday. I opted for an easy way to do this cake. I found some cupcake toppers of Thomas, James and Percy (all his favourite trains) and so I decided to just set the scene with the cake. Now if you recall a recent post on gum paste where I made a standing rainbow, you'd know why I chose to make a brick wall. However, I have to say I'm quite disappointed with the Satin Ice brand of gum paste, it didn't dry out hard even after a whole night of air-conditioning! Sadly the brick wall was not as sturdy as I would have liked it but some toothpick foundations did the trick. I'm sticking with Wilton from now on.

I also love my brick wall embossing pattern, it turned out very nicely. Then I made three little tunnels from which the trains look like they are emerging. The tracks are made of chocolate Kit Kat pieces - many of which ended up in the mouth as I chugged along. The cake was simple enough, not my best effort but it made the boy's day nonetheless ; )


Cake No.3

I actually forgot to take a proper pic of this third cake. It was a rainbow cake of course. Here's one of the boy and his cake at school. 

Happy Birthday Jake

Little Red Corvette

Ok, not exactly (a red corvette). But it's a little red car nonetheless for a little boy who turns 2.

A friend had referred a mummy to me - she was looking for a healthy treat to be shared in school for her little one's birthday. She was keen on a fruity cake with reduced sugar and fancied the Hummingbird Cake... it couldn't be a better choice! She didn't favour the pineapples in the original recipe, so I had it replaced with mangoes. It was a yummy substitute and because mangoes are naturally so sweet, I easily reduced the sugar in the recipe by 50%. The resulting cake was also very moist - banana and mango is such a great combination, who'd have thought ; ) And in place of sour cream, I added fruity yoghurt, which is way more healthy!

Little Keith must love cars since his cake requirement was simple - a little classic red car on a rectangular cake. That's the best shape cake for school since it makes for easy cutting and serving.

I made a double layer cake measuring 13" by 9" and another smaller layer for carving into the shape of the car. I went with the Volkswagen beetle shape car just because it looks cuter and had it covered in fondant for a neater finish. The rest of the cake was generously frosted in light cream cheese.

Delicious ride

Happy Birthday Keith!

The style of this cake is like the penguin cake I made some months back, though there is one huge challenge to this - fondant and cream cheese do not like each other at all. While I love cream cheese frosting more than any other frosting, it is just not possible to apply fondant to it. Fondant breaks down when it comes into contact with cream cheese and becomes a total mess! Still it is possible to be creative and incorporate the two popular ingredients. The trick is to create a barrier for the fondant - in this case, I used a royal icing-like frosting where the fondant car is sitting on.

This is having your fondant and eating it with cream cheese ; )

A Vote of Confidence

Since I've started this baking venture, I've learnt so much about cake decoration! I was joking with a friend that it's no longer just about baking a cake anymore... you get to be a sculptor (Piggy cake), dressmaker (Barbie cake), engineer (tiered cake), and cartoon artist (Tom & Jerry). But I must admit I still have a lot to learn.

I can't express how glad I am to be given the opportunity to try my hand at making a Tom & Jerry cake. An old school friend referred a friend to me, she was looking for a Tom & Jerry cake for her two kids celebrating their birthdays together. At first, I was a bit apprehensive about the project since I haven't really done much fondant modelling work, but the challenge was irresistible. When she finally decided to go with me, I was so excited, I started practicing moulding the figurines 5 days before delivery! 

Here's the first go at Jerry...

A first attempt at Jerry

I felt Jerry's ears were too triangle...so I played plastic surgeon and had another go!

Big round ears!

Then there's Tom...

First attempt at Tom

I couldn't stop meddling with Tom actually... poor guy not only gets a whacking from Jerry but a whole lot of face-rearrangement from me! ha!

Here's the zany duo

Now since Tom was getting a hammering on the head... the hubby thought it would be funny to play with the eyes...

Seeing stars

Here's the labour of my adventure...

Two-step chocolate cake featuring Tom & Jerry

Happy Birthday Adrienne & Ethan

I'll be honest, I struggled somewhat with getting the a few things right on this cake. First, it took a bit of work to get the expressions on the figurines the way I imagined it. Then there was the fondant covering for the cake. I ended up building a bit too much cake, which weighed in at about 3.5kg. This called for a VERY large sheet of fondant and I had trouble rolling it out. But looking at the result, I think it was a decent effort. Now I'm secretly wishing for a fondant rolling machine!

I'm so blessed to meet many people who have been so encouraging and kind towards this baking project of mine. The opportunities have been amazing and I'm constantly surprised at what I can create. Thanks A for the vote of confidence ; )

I Love School Parties

I love birthday parties and I love preparing parties for school. When Jake's school issued a letter to inform parents of a potluck party for the end of school term and requested for parents to chip in, I have to admit, I was excited!

My assignment... Marcaroni and Cheese.

OK, so I was kinda hoping it would be cupcakes or any baked goods, but I got Mac & Cheese. Still, I was happy to prepare this and I wasn't going to the supermarket to buy any of that instant stuff filled with MSG and artificial colouring and flavouring, I was going to make this from scratch. So I called upon my most favourite American mama blogsite - The Pioneer Woman and got her lovely Mac & Cheese recipe - made from fresh milk, butter, grated cheddar and just the right amount of sea salt.

Then I thought, nobody is going to say no to freshly baked cupcakes, so I asked Jake - "What cupcake would you like to share with your friends?" And I got a resounding Banana!!!

Banana it is! I happily baked a box of Banana Maple Cupcakes, topped with a dollop of cream cheese frosting and drizzled in maple syrup for the kids at school!

These cupcakes are great for school parties! A handy and yummy treat that's healthy too. Order these for your kids' school or birthday parties, minimum box of 12. Packaged in easy to carry away box plus labelling : )

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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