baby boy

We’re expecting! Well, not exactly “We”, but my niece is and I am so excited! A little baby boy will be arriving soon! Naturally when I heard the news, the shower planning began. I asked what I could do to help and my niece requested that I make the cake. “Yes! Of course! And how about cupcakes for favors?” I responded. And away I went.

I spent the better part of a month researching recipes, fondant, chocolate techniques, icing, buttercream, fillings, etc. so that I could create an extra special Dr. Seuss themed cake for Ashley’s special day. We decided on pumpkin with cream cheese filling for one layer (I’ve made that one a few times in the past and was always a hit) and red velvet with cheesecake for the other. I had never done red velvet before and did a trial run a few weeks before the shower and made a mini cake for us all to sample. It was yummy and I got the green light to add it to my recipe collection.

Now, please remember as you view these images. I AM NOT A TRAINED CAKE DECORATOR. I have never taken any classes or had any instruction. I am self taught and love to watch cake and cupcake shows on tv. I say this so you know that this cake is far from perfect and to please excuse the flaws. I share the pics here because I am happy with the attempt I made and because I worked over 80 hours on this. And so you can see how happy and sweet my niece is 🙂

I did learn a lot in doing this cake – like cheesecake filling does not work for stacking layered cakes – a lesson learned a little late hense the right lean. We almost lost it just as the guests were arriving but a handful of toothpicks in the back of The Cat In The Hat’s head and we were able to save it from falling over. YIKES!

Lesson two: Take more time carving the cereal treat head so that The Cat In the Hat doesn’t end up looking like a bear. I apologize and know that he doesn’t look very much like the cat but I didn’t allow for enough time to get it right.

Finally, even though I thought I was thoroughly prepared, everything takes practice and mistakes will happen. It’s ok and I did what I could do with the knowledge I had. Let it go and know that you did your best.

So here is the practice I did with paper…

And here is the actual cake…

The fish on top is modeling chocolate. He sits inside a plastic bowl (was a Christmas ornament that I cut to make look like a fish bowl) that is filled with blue Jell-o.

The figures were made with royal icing that I made and mounted to fondant. All of the fondant is home-made from marshmallow and was actually quite good.

The Cat head and hat were made from cereal treats.

The entire cake stood about three feet tall. I didn’t get the best pictures after being so flustered from the lean and almost falling over.

And here are the boxes I made for the cupcake favor, signs, and the Mommy and Daddy to be.