A History of Birthday Cakes

Tomorrow is Andrew's birthday party, which makes today...Birthday Cake Day! If I get nothing else accomplished today, I'll be happy if the cake gets done! I like to do it the day before... just in case. I have always made the cakes for my kids' birthday parties and some have turned out better than others.

For our two-year-old birthdays, I seemed to have some common sense in my cake choice...for example, for Andrew's Bob the Builder party, I had the brilliant idea to pile brownies in a new dump truck for brownie sundaes - the easiest "cake" ever!

And for Logan's second birthday, I just baked and frosted a cake and placed some Little People toys in it - easy cake decorations and a present all in one! I didn't even have to take it out of the pan!
Other years, I didn't have as much sense. Like Andrew's Fire Engine Cake of '06 - my first and only attempt at a fondant cake. They make it look so easy on the Food Network! My fondant, however, kept splitting and ripping at every corner and white frosting would squirt out the cracks! I literally shed tears over this cake!

And the Pirate Ship Cake of '07... It turned out pretty cool, I must say (complete with "cannon" candles on the side and a pirate walking the "plank" in the back), but it formed a nice crack across the center which slowly grew as the party went on. By cake time, it had pretty much split in half like the Titanic and was sinking just as fast! At least I got some good pictures first!

So, why do I do this to myself? I ask myself that every time at some point in the cake decorating process. I admit, I do feel quite a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when the cake is complete, and the praise from my husband is pretty nice too, but I put tons of work and frustration into it and I'm not sure if the kids even notice or care.

Last night, when I was thinking about chickening out, I asked Andrew if we could do brownie sundaes instead of a cake this year. He said, "I don't think so, Mom. A birthday is just not the same without a cake." I tried to reason with him that we did brownies for his 2nd birthday and he loved them. "I was only two, and I didn't know any better," was his reply. Wow! I guess he does really care! That gave me the little confidence boost I needed.

Today's attempt - Kim Possible and her goofy sidekick/boyfriend, Ron Stoppable. Unfortunately, Wilton doesn't make a KP cake pan, and I couldn't find any KP figurines or toys to decorate with (should have tried eBay), so I am on my own for this one! Here's a picture from the Internet that I'm using as my inspiration. (the heads, not the full bodies!)

I already baked and started frosting the cake earlier today - so far, so good. I'm going to get the kids to bed and then finish the cake. If all goes well, I'll get back on and add a picture of the finished product. If you don't hear from me by tomorrow, someone come find me! I'll be the one sobbing hysterically in the kitchen, covered head to toe in frosting.

*UPDATE*

Okay, so I survived Cake Day! After about a TON of food coloring, the Kim Possible Cake is finished! It's not professional, but I think you can tell who the characters are. And Andrew says he likes it, which is what really matters, right?!