Fish Tank Cake

I was inspired by Parenting.com to make this cake for my daughter's "Under the Sea" themed birthday party. It looked fairly easy, and since I worked the night before the party, I needed a cake that was fairly simple. I made this Homemade Funfetti recipe - only I doubled it for a 9x13 cake pan and baked for about 35 minutes. Because nothing says kid's birthday like Funfetti!

The rest of the cake was done the day of the party - it took me less than an hour for sure.
I frosted it with my Buttercream Recipe. Once I was sure the cake was covered evenly, I kind of swirrled the frosting, to make it look like water.
Sand = Heath crumbs (you can find it near the chocolate chips in the baking aisle).
Castle = Graham Crackers, cut to whatever shape you want
Fish  = Goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish. The bubbles are white frosting and the eyes are melted chocolate (although if I did this again, I would skip the eyes...).
Twisted seaweed  = spearmint gum rolled on a sugared surface then twisted. (I actually misread the instructions, it called for actual spearmint leaves... oh well, the gum worked great too).
Spikey seaweed = Jolly Rancher Chews that you microwave for 3-4 seconds then roll out and cut to shape.

Happy Birthday Lou

My baby turned 1! I can't believe it. This past year went so fast.

 

My baby butterfly

I had a lot of fun doing her party. I was inspired when I saw this book, Hello Cupcake. They had some beautiful butterflies that looked so fun to make. Of course, they were our first attempt and didn't turn out as good as the book, but I am pretty proud.

 

What are the cupcakes?:
Wings & antenna - melted chocolate dark and pink (bought at local craft store, pre-colored)
Bodies - 4 brown M&Ms and/or Reese's Peices
Buttercream frosting
Vanilla cupcakes - used this recipe

Tips for assembling:
If you look closely on  some of the butterflies you will notice candies under the wings, this holds them up in flight.
Make extra wings and lots of extra antennas. They may break.

 

My baby loved them. Can you tell? 

Dear Lou - thanks for the best year of my life. You have made me such a better person. I love you more each day. You are my favorite girl in the world. Kisses!
Mama.

Holidays This Week

This week is a big week for holidays:
Yesterday (sorry) - Pistachio Day
Today (Wednesday) - Chocolate Cake Day, all should celebrate
Thursday - Blueberry Pancake Day
Friday - Corn Chip Day















picture via cafelatte.com

Holiday Time Saver

This time of year is full of family, parties, and of course - treats. But sometimes you are hopping from one event to the next that you are feeling a little ragged, right? Well, here's a little helpful tip - take something store-bought and add something homemade. This fools people that you made the whole thing by yourself.
This was my treat to bring to a family party:

I bought these little brownies from Costco, then I made a buttercream frosting, and topped with crushed candy canes.
Here's another tip: Hand your kids a bag of candy canes (you can leave the paper on, its easier to pull off once their crushed), a rolling pin, and let them have at it!
Here's my buttercream recipe:

Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-5 Tbsp milk
few drops food coloring (optional)

With hand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until texture is like small beads. Add vanilla and 1 Tbsp milk. Beat until fully combined. Continue adding milk, a tablespoon at a time until you have reached desired consistency.

Make this work any time of year: use different color food coloring and toppings (use candies, sprinkles, nuts, etc)

Recently Starred Items

Some great blogging lately! I haven't had time to catch up on all the recipes I have wanted to make. Here are some of the things I have made or want to make.

 image via Pinch My Salt

Pumpkin Doughnuts
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins
Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet
(hmmm... they are all desserts. weird.)

Some great tips to help you through the Thanksgiving Holiday:
Thanksgiving Timeline
Martha Stewart's Thansgiving Index

Some beautiful Tablescape Ideas for Thanksgiving:

 Isn't this a great idea? Pumpkin for a vase! Cheap too!

 

Wishbones! For Napkin Rings! Martha. You amaze me.

What great tips or recipes have you found for Thanksgiving?