The epic birthday cake week

Emily's second birthday gave me ample opportunity to hone my cake decorating skills. That may sound like I used my daughter as an excuse to practise my baking. Actually, that's fairly accurate. 

First there was the Play Centre birthday cake, which happily coincided with our name appearing on the morning tea roster that week. I believe I have solved that age-old question of how to simultaneously feed a dozen hungry sweet-toothed parents, practise your fondant icing techniques and celebrate your daughter's birthday...the answer, as it so often is (or should be), is cake.

Cake 1: Play Centre party

Just in case this blog isn't nepotistic enough, here is a clip of the Play Centre birthday!

Then of course, Emily's pre-school needed a birthday cake. When I asked whether I should bring in a birthday cake, I was told "No, you don't have to; we can give the children a play dough cake instead. Most parents bring a cake though." I know my daughter. She is not stupid. Nor is she likely to humour her pre-school teachers if presented with a play dough cake in lieu of something with pink buttercream icing. I suspect I'm coming off as one of  'those' parents... but with this baking challenge also in mind, it was a no-brainer. Pink buttercream icing it was.

Then of course, there was the big '2' party - not really a party, more of an adult-friendly day out in Rotorua with the family and grandparents, including Nana Barback, all the way from England. With 'pink' as my guide, and Emily's penchant for cats, this was the result...

I was very proud of this effort, although credit must be given to Neil for very reluctantly helping me roll some of the strands of 'wool' - surprisingly tricky and time-consuming. Actually, Neil, would rather I didn't mention that he helped with cake decoration, so I'm doing this partly to pay him back for his remark that the cat looked more like a possum. I am not a fan of possums, so this was highly insulting. I breathed a big sigh of relief when Emily exclaimed - "it's a cat!"

So yes, three cakes. I know. I went a bit overboard, but I learned a lot in the process. And of course, every stir of the mixture, every curse at the fondant icing, was delivered with the greatest of love.

It doesn't end there though - my dad's birthday (27th July), which has played second fiddle to mine (24th July) for the last  - cough - 30 years, and was further relegated by the birth of granddaughter Emily two years ago (26th July), is often overlooked. So I was determined he should get a cake. What sort of cake should you make a 56 year old dairy farmer?

Well, naturally, a cow cake. Not, as my dad said upon seeing it, "a cow with milk fever" cake. Up there with the possum insult, I tell you. Men.

So that was birthday cake week. What a week. Dan has put in an order for a "tractor with a trailer with a quad bike on the trailer" as his 4th birthday cake. Thank goodness his birthday isn't until November...

TTFN x