Number Three Caterpillar Birthday Cake

It was a busy weekend, as so many are. Gumdrop's family party was fast approaching, and I showed my other half various birthday cake options on Pinterest, hoping for his help narrowing down the choices. So when he lovingly suggested that we do something simple... I realized it was up to me alone.

Not that I blame him. He grew up on box cake baked into a rectangular pan--"regular cake," so they call it. His mom made a tasty buttercream frosting, and voila! Birthday cake. For my mom, however, cake was her artistic medium, and for your birthday, you ate a boat or a bunny or something of that sort. Further, box-cake isn't my jam; it tastes kinda ho-hum. I'm sure Gumdrop could care less, as he usually eats little frosting before asking for a handful of chocolate chips instead. Still, if I'm going to make it, I'd like to enjoy it, too. Besides, last year SourPatch got a delicious and fun Octonauts cake; Gumdrop deserved one, too. So I said to myself. Because I wanted to make one.

So, busy weekend or not, I settled on the classic number 3 cake, caterpillar-style. There are rough instructions for it in this delightful, jazzy video tutorial...doo, doo, doo-doo-doo, doo-doot-doo. It shows where to cut the bundt cakes AND has you use a cookie scoop to distribute the frosting. Have I mentioned how much I love my cookie scoop? I use it whenever I can: to fill muffin tins, to fill chicken puffs, and to, well, scoop cookie dough. Now, I shall use it to distribute frosting on a cake, and I love it.

Eh-hem. Anyways, here's the final result:

This does make a lot of cake. I love my Cake Mix Doctor cookbook and went into a panic when I could not find it in the new house (I later found it in the linen closet, naturally...)! This turned out to be a boon, as I discovered the popular Too Much Chocolate Cake recipe on allrecipes.com. It is as delicious as the 5 stars and 5000 reviews suggest. Armed with my fluted bundt pan and ramekins, I doubled the recipe and cooked up the 4 cakes in two batches. Obviously, the small "head" cakes cook for a much shorter time than the bundt cakes, so be sure to check on them and pull them out early once they spring back to the touch.

While letting the cakes cool completely on wire racks, I whipped up some buttercream (again, from an online recipe, as my cookbook also contained my usual one). After skipping all the ones that are Crisco based (really? For buttercream frosting?), I found a classic butter-powdered sugar-milk variety that tasted as delicious as anything made from those ingredients should. 

It was only then that I realized I grabbed a box of neon food coloring by mistake... ah well. For added texture and interest, I tossed giant round sprinkles onto the frosting immediately after spreading (before the frosting hardens up). I thought the effect was great... until we ate it a few hours later. Sheesh, those sprinkles are like rocks! I felt like a was going to break a tooth; I'm getting something smaller next time. Good thing it looked cute.

To finish it off, I added the facial features. Though the obvious choice of decoration was fondant, I shuttered to resort to it. Not only do I dislike the taste, but don't you also have to either make or buy a lot of it for a tiny amount of decoration? Luckily for me, I'd learned the Starburst hack from the dragon cake I made SourPatch ages ago. A small pack of Starburst will give you a variety of colors, and a few seconds in the microwave will yield them malleable for a few minutes before they harden again. So a few yellow, orange, and red squares plus two toothpicks yielded eyes, mouth, and antennae for our caterpillar friend.

Happy Birthday, Gumdrop. May your next year be as bright as this (neon) cake!

Octonauts Themed Birthday Party

Well, our first ever birthday party is in the books! Don't get me wrong; we didn't completely ignore SourPatch's first few birthdays. There were definitely cake and family time involved in all of them, and I think birthday #3 fell on a day I was hosting preschool, so we worked birthday festivities into the activities of the day (that year had the best dragon cake, too! The tutorial is floating around online somewhere...)

Then last year, SourPatch opted for an excursion with a friend over a traditional party. Yet this year... this year it felt like it was time. Patches was excited about a friend party, and I was ready to try to expand my mothering experiences to include hosting said party. His favorite show of the moment is Octonauts, a show of which I approve and an obvious theme for his party.

Here's what I liked about his birthday this year: it gave us an opportunity to work on party-preparations together. For example, we bonded making a pinata of Captain Barnacle's face. I was going to add a link to the tutorial we used, only to find out the site is having troubles. Basically, we cut out two outlines of a polar bear head in cardboard and a two inch strip of cardboard to go in between. We taped it together with packing tape (not too tight, lest the kids couldn't crack it open...) and left an open flap to add candy later. Oh, and I added some sturdy ribbon tied around the inner cardboard strip for hanging.

Next, the wrapping! To give it the appearance of fur--and that classic pinata look--I cut slits 3/4 of the way up two rolls of white streamers acquired from the dollar store. Since I had modge podge on hand, it was my adhesive of choice to brush across the pinata in sections as I wrapped the pre-cut streamer around and around and around, overlapping the strips to leave no brown cardboard peeking through. SourPatch was a great helper here.

Once completely wrapped, I let it dry and cut out a hat, ears, and face from construction paper and card stock. Add an Octonauts emblem to the hat, and voila! The captain.

I'm glad it looked cute and even more glad that the kids universally seemed to enjoy hitting it. Indeed, they kept hitting it even after the candy came out.

My son also enjoyed helping decorate for the party. We added streamer seaweed to the windows.

We also made and hung jellyfish from the ceiling (the tutorial is found here at Little Stars Learning.)

So... activities. I read lots of moms online skip the party games all together and just let the kids play, especially if they have pleasant weather and a big yard. I considered having the party at a nearby park, but the weather was inclement. Further, the point was to try to throw a "real" party, not just a play date, so, consulting with the birthday boy, we tried to think of activities he and his friends would enjoy.

As the kids arrived, we had a bubble machine blowing ambient bubbles on the porch. First thing, they came and played "Pin the Eyepatch on Kwazii" (another creation we threw together with poster board and construction paper, though I believe there's a version you can buy on amazon.)

Then, there were ocean sticker scenes from Oriental Trading Company available for the kids at folding tables to create while waiting for the other kids to arrive. I'd say half the kids chose to do the sticker scenes while the other half played with toys. Works for me!

Once all the children arrived, we unrolled a "treasure map" to three different spots in our home. The first spot had a classic "fishing game." Dad crouched on the other side of a blue blanket, attaching cheap plastic ocean animals to the end of a fishing rod as each child took turns casting it over. The next spot on the map went to these awesome swordfish swords, also from Oriental Trading Company (but sadly now discontinued.) I had them stabbed into a gold, spray-painted cardboard box so they could each pull their sword out King Arthur style. The kids enjoyed playing with them and surprisingly didn't kill each other with them (though one child did obliterate the box... no picture of that one!)

Our last stop on the treasure map led the kids to sand boxes on the porch full of buried gold (plastic) doubloons. After digging their allocated amount of coins, they were free to go and play until pinata time. I, like every other mom on the internet, made "Pesos' Medical Bags" to hold their party swag and pinata candy. Thank you, Misadventures of a First Time Mum for the band aid printable.

As mentioned before, the kids really do love hitting a pinata, especially with their new swordfish sword. Post pinata, we went inside for cake and candles. I made a Kwazii cake on Patch's actual birthday earlier in the week; we rocked cupcakes for the friend party. Now, what to do for food? Looking online, I found that some really beautiful, elaborate, and adorable, ocean-themed spreads. I thought and thought about what to do... and decided to follow one party planner's much simpler suggestion: ice cream bar. Kids love the power to choose their own toppings, she claimed, and she was right. Cake and ice cream? Simple. Though yes, I'm sure I did spoil these kids' lunches...

I really meant to say "no presents necessary" on the invitations and then just didn't... However, it was great to see how excited the kids were to see SourPatch open his presents. I thought kids hated the "open presents" part? I was actually going to skip it. Again, I'm a rookie mom, apparently; this was a highlight for the guests, and though I'll still likely say "no presents" next year, it was fun to see the kids' faces light up with the happiness of giving.

It felt like a win. Yes, we invited more kids than I thought prudent for the age group (and our square footage.) Yes, it was chaotic. Yet the kids seemed to enjoy the activities and company, and SourPatch had a great time, both in the preparations leading up to the party and at the party itself. Victory.

Can you bake a cake in a KitchenAid mixing bowl?

Yes.

End of blog post.

Except first, can we talk about internet forums or conversation threads or whatever it's called when someone asks a question and others can post answers? I appreciate such things; I find good tips and helpful answers to the problems that Google doesn't know how to solve. However, upon trying to figure out the above, I found some vague yeses, some "I Don't Knows" (why post at all to say you don't know? Unless you have a related, helpful suggestion?), and a lecture or two about treating the KitchenAid mixing bowl with care rather than hazarding its safety in an oven.

Whatever. The point is, SourPatch had a very specific request for his birthday cake: a chocolate, blue bird cake. A short perusal of Google images later, I found and fell in love with this cake. The artist uses 4 round cakes and shapes them to look like a dome. Then, there's also this very cute tutorial with a pair of round cakes and a dome cake on top.

Here's the rub: I'm trying to cut back on my sugar intake, and the big family party happens after Patch's birthday. For the day of, I just wanted one cake mix worth of cake for the family and a few friends. Further, even if I did want a behemoth of a cake, why not use a cake pan already in the intended shape? So I eyed my stainless steel mixing bowl and asked the internet if I could bake with it.

True, I have had lots of experience baking with the Wilton Wonder Mold Pan. My bestie in high school convinced me to go on a "Barbie Cake" baking run. The advantage this pan has over the KitchenAid bowl is a long, metal skewer running down the center to help it bake evenly. The disadvantage is has is that I don't own one any more.

However, I followed the same baking temperature and time suggested for the Wilton pan: 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Using a Devil's food recipe from the wonderful Cake Mix Doctor Book, I found that time perfect for my cake, even without the metal cylinder in the center. I also found it a little squatty. I know that I managed to cook two mixes at once for a tall Barbie cake, but alas I don't have any memory of how to adjust the time.

The moral is that the cake pan survived (325 is a pretty low baking temp, n'est pas?) and from all appearances returned unscathed from its adventure in the oven. Along with homemade buttercream frosting, I decorated with edible colored baking sheets my mom gifted me in lieu of the fondant (and marshmallows for the eyes.) The final result wasn't polished, but it was delicious!

Sugar. Oh. Honey. Honey: Sugar Fast Anyone?

 Anyone else love sugar? I sure do. I love Skittles and Sour Patch Watermelons for the straight-up sugar cravings and chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls for my lots of sugar + lots of lard cravings. Luckily, while I was in college, my lovely sister-in-law Rachell started doing sugar fasts and I jumped on that wagon. We basically didn't eat any sugar (that didn't occur naturally in fruits and honey and the like) 6 days of the week, but were allowed 1 sugar day where we could have some legitimate delicious treats that came our way. We could choose to have our "sugar day" for the week, any day. That way if someone brought you a chocolate milk from the creamery (that literally tasted like liquid chocolate ice cream) and set it right in front of your desk at work-- you could take your sugar day and drink that baby.

For me, the great thing about doing the "sugar fast" thing for several months is that I stopped craving sugar. In fact, things started tasting too sweet and my body didn't want the amounts of sugar it used to want.

Fast forward several years and here I am now: a breastfeeding, busy mom. These days, when I  make my favorite orange-glazed poppyseed bread (or cake if you want to call things by their proper name), I basically want to eat the entire loaf . On top of that, my 3-year-old asks for candy all the time. I don't give it to her very often, so I'm not sure why she constantly asks...but what is it about us that wants sugar from the time we are 2 years old? 2 YEARS OLD! Sheesh.

This is the birthday cake I made for my 3-year old this year. It is based around a Daniel Tiger episode where two of the characters play on Jungle Beach. My little girl requested a pink cake- so it is a strawberry cake on the inside with tons of frosting on the outside--and only 3 people to eat it. Let's just say I tossed most of it in the garbage after the big day.

So I have been working really hard at satisfying my sweet tooth by using healthier, happier methods than chocolate milk and colored candies and entire loaves of cake. I know there are wonderful natural sugar substitutes out there. But most of the time I just want something very simple and easy that I can grab out of a bag or whip up in a blender in 3 minutes. So here are my go-tos:

http://livelighter.org/27-natural-allergy-solutions/

1. Fresh Pineapple

This stuff tastes better than candy to me.

2. Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Shake

You must try this.

3. These Pretend Chocolate Chip Cookies from Chelsea's Messy Apron. They have a tiny bit of brown sugar and are actually gluten and dairy-free as well. I call them "pretend" cookies because there is just no real substitute for chocolate chip cookies made with 2 sticks of butter. mmmmmm....good.

4. Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips

These babies are rich, non-dairy, non-soy, and low sugar. Just a few of them will satisfy the chocolate cravings.

5. Fruit Smoothies: I really, really like Walmart's Great Value Mixed Frozen Fruit. We stick a cup and a half of that in a blender with a ripe banana and some orange juice and spinach: Voila! You get sugar but you also get a bunch of nutrients.

Or try this deliciousness:  Blend 1/2 cup frozen pineapple, 6 frozen strawberries, 1 ripe peach, & 1 ripe banana. Add some orange juice until it is your preferred consistency. If you want to go a step farther, add a cup of fresh spinach to pack in some extra nutrients.

6. Marilyn's Homemade Granola

When I don't eat this granola for breakfast,  I've started making a muesli of sorts. You soak a cup of whole oats in unsweetened, vanilla almond milk (just pour in enough to barely cover the oats), sprinkle a bit of salt and drizzle a bit of honey over it. Then cover and refrigerate it overnight. In the morning, add some fresh berries and chopped almonds or walnuts, or just cut in a ripe banana. It is the perfect oatmeal for hot summer months, because you don't have to cook it!

7. Hot Cocoa

1 cup milk (or almond milk)
1 Tbl cocoa
1 Tbl honey

Heat milk in microwave for a minute and a half. Stir cocoa and honey into milk until combined.

8. Happy Munchies Apple Rice Cakes 

I like the idea of rice cakes but I hate all the added sugar and salt in the stuff you find in the snack aisle. And I don't love the plain jane rice cakes either. So I got these for my 8-month old to try. When I nibbled on one myself, I found it was the perfect rice cake! And they seem to only make them for babies. That doesn't stop me though. I just ordered myself a huge box of them. They are rice cakes with a hint of apple juice and no added salt or sugar. A perfect snack that is just the right amount of sweet.

p.s. Here's some nutritionist jargon about sugar that I read recently:

"Don't get the idea that because the sugar composition is the same in fruit and cake, they're interchangeable. (Seriously, they're not.) For one thing, fruit offers good stuff like vitamins, antioxidants and water, while candy and desserts are nutritionally void. Fruit also tends to have less sugar by volume. Half a cup of strawberries: 3.5 grams of sugar. Half a cup of strawberry ice cream: 15 grams.

Plus, whole fruit has a lot of fiber, which actually slows down your body's digestion of glucose, so you don't get the crazy insulin spike (and subsequent crash) that candy causes. That also means your body has more time to use up glucose as fuel before storing it -- as fat. Even dried fruit, a notoriously sugary treat, has all the fiber and nutrients of its plump forbear. But do watch out for dried fruits with added sugar(check the nutrition label), and don't eat a ton just because they're smaller. Picture how many pieces are in a handful of raisins compared with a handful of grapes. See what we mean?

On average, Americans don't eat enough fruit, so don't cut it out of your diet in an attempt to limit your sugar intake! Sugar itself isn't toxic. But getting too much of it from cookies and cake is." ("Is Sugar From Fruit Better For You Than White Sugar", The Huffington Post, Posted Online 6/29/2013)

Cupcake Bouquet

We were so lucky to be able to celebrate our grand-daughter's birthday with her during a recent visit. When I asked her what kind of a cake she would like, she requested "a flower cake." I found myself thinking of cakes that my mother made me when I was a little girl. They were lovely works of art. One of her decorating tricks was cutting jellied candies into different shapes to create flower petals, and I thought that might be a fun way to create flowers for Miss K. I bought multi-flavored fruit slice candies at the dollar store. We used two packages for this bouquet:

Instead of one large cake, Delys and I decided to create a cupcake bouquet. There are a bazillion tutorials out there--none of which we read--so I won't try to give you step by step instructions here. I'll just give you a flavor for what we learned and then suggest that you actually read at least one of the bazillion tutorials. I think doing that would have saved us some time and mistakes.

We chose a cute flower pot that I already had for our base. I bought a styrofoam ball to fit on top which we hot glued to the top of the pot for stability:

With the help of two of my favorite cooks, I baked the cupcakes and frosted them with buttercream frosting. (Royal frosting would probably have been better for holding the flower petals in place, but we cared more about taste than artistry.) Using kitchen shears, I cut the fruit slices into smaller pieces and then started creating flowers. We learned from sad experience that it's a good idea to let your cupcakes sit for awhile after they are decorated to allow the frosting to harden and "glue" your petals firmly into place:

We initially tried plastic picks to attach the cupcakes to the ball, but we found that heavy duty wooden toothpicks worked better. Delys used one to spear through the bottom of the cupcake and then into the ball. She stuck two more toothpicks into the ball under each cupcake to hold it more firmly in place. We placed a flower at the top of the ball in the center and then worked down from there:

Once we reached the mid-point of the ball and gravity began to work against us, we quit using cupcakes and began to fill in with tissue paper. I used white tissue with tiny, colored speckles between the flowers. I just cut small squares and pushed them into the gaps with a pencil:

Then I cut squares of yellow tissue and stuck a dab of hot glue in the center of each square before I pushed it into place around the bottom of the bouquet. And here it is: