ducks' pond birthday cake

I started out with plans to make a bottle cap cake, but the kiddo started looking at the cake books and really wanted his dad's birthday cake to have ducks on it.

These were made using the directions in What's New Cupcake?  by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack. We used marshmallows instead of donut holes for the heads and mini chocolate chips for the eyes, but otherwise the ducks are pretty close to their predecessors. We chose the "melted frosting" approach to coating the ducks, which was a success.

The pond is colored buttercream through a star tip, and I used chocolate rocks and confetti sprinkles around the edge of the platter for the shore.

And yes, it looks more appropriate for a baby shower than a grown man, but the Mr. was a good sport about our kiddo's decision to add some ducks into his birthday celebration.

But sometime soon I'm going to try again to make the bottle cap cake I'd planned on. Unless my kiddo's agenda sounds more fun.

Are you working on any non-conventional food lately? Anybody else have kids who like to play art director?

Thanks for reading!

better already

Changes since the last post: six old red/orange lanterns removed; two new white lanterns hung; placement of the large lantern has changed; orange wall primed with first coat of zero VOC primer.

The kiddo saw the area for the first time after his nap today and declared it a window. Right on.

(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)

gingerbread house

We built this cute little gingerbread house using a kit from Wilton. I think we might pick up a kit from Trader Joe's next year, as they're a few bucks less and a little more unusual-looking, but this one came out pretty cute, with the addition of a ton of chocolate chips. Babies are not awesome gingerbread builders, but they do make decent tasters!


(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)


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fun with baking (wedding cookies, c. 2003)

In June of 2003, I married my awesome husband at a mostly-handmade wedding a few miles from our home. Friends and family filled first a quonset hut for the ceremony, then the field and wooded area just outside. A couple of years ago, the quonset hut in question was torn down (we happened to be there one day, and salvaged one of the original nails), replaced by a beautiful wedding and reception hall.

But, though buildings come and go, the leftover cookies I made (with help) remained . . . in my freezer . . . for the last eight+ years.




Okay, cards on the table: the leftover cookies actually moved with us from our old house to our current house about six years ago. Yes, it's true; I moved stale, leftover wedding cookies from one house to another.




They held up remarkably well in appearance, but the flavor and texture were horrible. (What, you mean you wouldn't taste eight-year-old wedding cookies from your freezer?)




I snapped these photos before tossing them.




At the time of our wedding, they were delicious; I followed a Martha Stewart recipe for citrus sugar cookies, similar to the one linked here. They're decorated with a royal icing like in that recipe, too. Time consuming, but they looked really nice on the dessert table next to the wedding cake and the groom's cake! These photos show them on a wooden cutting board gifted to us by a co-worker. On the big day, they were arranged on a silver-plated serving tray, one of seven I collected at thrift stores and consignment shops in the months leading up to the wedding.




Now that it's Christmas time and I have an eager baking (tasting) assistant (21 months old), I'm thinking about making up a new batch, but with reindeer and trees instead of wedding cakes, flowers, and moons. Hopefully, there'll be no leftovers this time. My freezer is completely full.


(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)


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rainbow tie - dye birthday cake

Happy Birthday to Me!




I saw a similar cake on Pinterest awhile back and wanted to replicate it, but the only recipe I found was pretty wild, including diet Sprite and diet pudding mix. Since I avoid artificial sweeteners when possible, I chose to go a more straight-forward route.

Pretty simple; mix up a box of white cake mix according to package instructions. Scoop out a cup or so, dye it red, add raspberries. Divide evenly and dollop in the center of two prepared pans. Scoop out another cup or so, dye it orange, add mandarin orange bits. Divide evenly and spoon on top of the two red dollops. Repeat for yellow and green, without fruit. Help mounded batter settle by striking the side of the pan with your hand.

Repeat for blue, indigo, and purple, mixed with blueberries. Once settled evenly in pan, bake in pre-heated oven. Cool, remove from pans, frost with confetti frosting.





I want to try it with cupcakes next!

(Other Pinterest inspiration posts: here, here, and here!)


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