Posts Tagged ‘apple spice cake’

Helicopter hysteria

{ March 9, 2010 @ 11:25 am } · { 3-Dimensional }
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I’m posting this ~3months late!!  I made these helicopters for 2 birthday boys, 1 year apart but born 1 week apart in the same month.  Their mother decided to just have one big party for the both of them, but also wanted them to have their own special cake.  Fortunately, they both agreed on having the same cake design, but with different colors.

The blue/white cake was an apple spice cake with cream cheese frosting and the orange/yellow cake was a chocolate cake also with cream cheese frosting.  I used half of an egg pan for each helicopter and then placed them on top of a 6″ round cake so it could feed more people.

The helicopter tails are made out of rice krispies treats and the propellers were made from hand-piped chocolate.   The rotor is made from wood and designed such that the propellers can rotate around if gently pushed.  I thought that would make the boys happy if they could actually spin the propellers on the their helicopter cakes!

Tea time

{ January 24, 2010 @ 5:06 am } · { 3-Dimensional }
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My friend’s daughter wanted to have tea party for her 4th birthday, so I decided to make a teapot cake with matching teacup cupcakes.  It was good practice for me as I was also planning a tea themed birthday party for my daughter…when she turns 4 or 5 (she will be only 3 this year!).

This was my first time working with fondant.  I usually avoid using it because taste-wise, I prefer butter-based frosting.  With the help of my wonderful sister-in-law, she showed me how to make marshmallow fondant.  It is a little softer than regular fondant that you can buy at a store like Michaels, but from what I hear from people, it tastes a little bit better.

I tinted the marshmallow fondant purple/blue and then made a lid, spout, and handle for the teapot.  I actually made 2 sets as back-up since I’ve never worked with fondant before and was worried they might crack or break while putting it on the cake.  I also made teacup handles and matching plates.  I made these about a day before the party, but now realize that making them 2-3 days ahead would have been better as they were not completely dried out and rock solid.  They were firm, but easily broke when not handled too carefully.

The teapot was made from carrot cake and the teacup-cakes were carrot and apple spice cakes.  I used the large cupcake molds and  made a total of 14 teacup cakes, one for every child going to the party.

The party was fun and interactive as the hosts also included a cookie making, baking, and decorating activity for the kids, which was big hit…even for the parents.

An apple a day…

{ December 17, 2008 @ 5:00 am } · { 3-Dimensional }
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We celebrated my niece’s birthday during Thanksgiving again this year.  I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to bake a 28lbs. turkey, stuffing, cheesy lemon-artichoke hearts, brocolli-cauliflower gratin, blueberry pie (we are lucky to be in sunny CA), pecan pie, and, to top it all off, an apple birthday cake (…all in one day).  The only downside, which I hate to admit, is that I forgot to buy a gummy worm for the apple cake…and I didn’t frost it too well because of my haste…

I baked an apple spice cake in a 6″ ball and 6″ round cake pans.  I tinted the cream cheese frosting green, used a peanut butter pretzel for the stem, and used fresh mint leaves from our garden for the leaves.

apple-cake