OnlyGirl and I had a joint celebration of our birthdays last weekend. We usually do it on the weekend that falls between our birthdays (although she usually gets her own cake on her birthday).
It was a simple, family affair, but with a small twist — this year, I made a cake in the shape of a castle, inspired by the simple (or so I thought!) castle cake design that I found in BirthdayExpress.com.
It was my first attempt in making and decorating a fancy cake, so please pardon the amateurish look to the final product. The kids didn’t seem to mind. MyEldest had a blast helping me decorate it. And they all enjoyed eating it, fighting over who gets the pretzel ‘door’ and ‘drawbridge’, the gummy ‘flags’ and the gumdrops.
I used a vanilla cake recipe for this cake, topped with buttercream frosting, lightly tinted yellow for the ‘castle’ and blue for the ‘water’ in the ‘moat’. Using the tip of a bamboo toothpick, I scored lines on the yellow frosting to make the ‘bricks’. I forgot to buy a rectangular cake plate so I made do with my cake stand from Ikea.
The cake cost very little to make. That is, if I only take into account the cost of materials. The cost of labour would have been high, considering that it took this amateur half a day to complete the whole thing.
But the joy that the kids got from it? Priceless! :)
November 20th, 2008 at 04:29
oh cool! it’s really beautiful and looked so yummy! great job!:) i love baking but never tried some fancy cakes… very interesting to try!
November 20th, 2008 at 07:11
What a fantastic cake! I think you didn’t a great job with it :) I always have trouble making cakes like these.
November 20th, 2008 at 07:11
Applause, applause! Great job, Mimi! :)
November 20th, 2008 at 07:33
Good job for a first attempt! I am useless with baking much less decorating a cake :)
Today’s a Thursday, so Happy birthday! :)
November 20th, 2008 at 08:31
josiet: i’m already thinking of what cake to make for the twins’ bday in january…and must start practicing haha.
j: naman! i’m such a noob and not worthy of your applause, of pastry guru.
sinta: love (and gumdrops) can do wonders!
a grateful heart: try it. it’s so much fun!
November 20th, 2008 at 09:56
If that’s your first time, it’s a great cake for a first timer. I wonder how I’ll fare with mine…
November 20th, 2008 at 10:23
yes, great cake for a first timer. Happy B-day to you and your daughter :)
November 20th, 2008 at 15:10
Nice cake… great job and its nice the kids got involved…Hope you had a great time. Belated Happy birthday to you both..
November 20th, 2008 at 15:42
Happy birthday :D
Hate to tell you this but I am 2 years younger than you! Hehehe
November 20th, 2008 at 18:27
bloghopped from sheng. happy bday to you! :) the cake looks yummmy! :) oh yes, kids’ joy are priceless! :)
November 21st, 2008 at 02:57
happy birthday to you!!!
i wouldn’t be able to forget your birthday as you celebrate next to my wedding anniversary. :)
lots of happiness, love and peace to you and your family!
November 21st, 2008 at 10:15
I wasn’t in the office yesterday so I wasn’t able to greet you, Happy Birthday! I hope you had a blast!
November 22nd, 2008 at 21:06
Amazing! Great Job! =)
November 23rd, 2008 at 00:59
What can I say? You seem to have the Midas’ touch – everything just turns out great! Happy Birthday!
The cake looked amazing! How creative – pretzels and gum drops.
November 23rd, 2008 at 01:50
gwen & witsandnuts: you’re both too kind. thanks :)
November 23rd, 2008 at 02:10
farrah: oh, that means you’re 22? ;)
odette: in the same way, i’ll never forget your wedding anniversary either!
dyanie: thanks for dropping by.
sheng: salamat :)
November 25th, 2008 at 00:02
That’s a fabulous cake for a first timer. Happy Belated Birthday.
November 25th, 2008 at 20:00
a-moms-diary: thanks. i plan to practice some more so that i can come up with something a bit more decent for the twins’ birthday in january!
December 22nd, 2008 at 14:22
dear Mimi,
i’d gone to a twins party and they had two round cakes (faces) with eyes out of M&M, licorice smiles and eyebrows… they looked damn cute.. n there was a cake for each…..
n btw i found this site which has a super easyyyy chocolate cake
google it up – chowtimes
hope it helps
December 26th, 2008 at 17:53
vivi: my kids love chocolate cake and never seem to tire of it. as for the design, in the end, i guess it will depend largely on my schedule. i just hope i won’t be traveling that day!