Aloha! A Luau Baby Shower Cake

One of my dear friends was having a baby shower a few months ago. She didn't want the typical baby blue tablecloths and baby Disney characters. She didn't want cars, or jungle or special character themes. She wanted something different.

A luau!

So when I first approached the idea, I thought of making a pregnant belly with coconut top bikini and grass skirt with a lei around the neck. But then I thought, this particular friend didn't really have such an enjoyable pregnancy. So to play it safe, I did a regular old tiki cake.

The only part of the cake that even had to do with "baby" was the surf board.

I made a large tiki hut face out of fondant as the cake topper and some chocolate mold fish as some decorations. The surfboard was fondant and the writing was used with a special food color pen.

The cake itself was vanilla with butter cream frosting. Instead of making a fondant covered cake, I decided to make it look more "beachy" to keep with the theme. So I frosted the top of the cake with icing, blended a half a box of vanilla wafers and covered the top with a sand-like texture.

I used the very delicious (although very expensive) Pirouette cookies for the tiki torches around the cake and secured them with a bow. This was really to tighten the cake so it would fit in the basket, but it really worked well aesthetically.

I used the flowers to fill in the gaps in the basket and give it some color.

I must have done something right on this one. It's the first cake I made that was COMPLETELY gone in less than 20 minutes.

I go hard in the 3D cakes!

Here's my Rock Band tribute cake. It was also made as a send off to a dear friend that was moving away.

What better way to send her off than a night of good old fashioned Rock Band?

So we did what we do best: go totally overboard and theme out our Rock Band party. We sprayed our hair pink, dressed in our Rock and Roll gear, set up the instruments and jammed out all night till our hands hurt and our voices were gone.

 But when it came time for dessert, my friends were in for quite a surprise: My first ever 3D cake.

The cake itself was basic vanilla with butter cream icing. Of course, I used my trusty Wilton cake recipe. The time and effort was all in the decorating.

I did the entire cake in homemade butter cream icing (one that's an absolute secret). I free hand piped the side of the cake that mimics the bars where the notes show up on the screen when you play Rock Band. I made all the instruments and Rock Band logo in fondant icing.

While it might not be the best, the most outrageous or even the most difficult cake, this one will always be my favorite. It was my first time stepping outside of that "safe" cake zone and doing something crazy.

It's also the day I learned I had more patience than I ever thought.

 

 

 

 

 

Something's Fishy... Goldfish Cupcakes!

So easy to make and everyone loves them!

 

These are a fun treat for kids parties, fish themed get togethers or - my favorite - "just because."

Whenever you decide to make them you will be pleasantly surprised by the sweet and salty combination.

Here's what you need:

• Goldfish (your preference: color, pretzel, original)
• Granola
• Green Fruit Roll Up (or Laffy Taffy)
• Your Favorite Ccupcake Mix
• Your Favorite Icing
• 24 Cupcake Paper Cups
• Cupcake Baking Tray
• Large Round Ssprinkles
• Blue Food Coloring

 

SO let's wash our hands and get started!

 

Start out by checking your cake recipe for the specific baking temperature, and preheat your oven to that degree.

1. Mix your favorite white cake batter.

2. Arrange 12 white paper baking cups in one of your cupcake baking trays (remember they cook better when doing them one at a time, but it's ok to do two trays if it fits in your oven). Fill 2/3 the way (HINT: fill a ziplock bag with your batter and cut a tiny hole in the bottom corner to squeeze batter into the cups).

3. Bake cupcakes for the recommended time of your recipe, or until the tops are slightly golden

4. Test the center with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. If the inside is still wet and the outside is done, turn down the temperature of your oven and cover with aluminum foil to finish baking.

5. Cool cupcakes on wire rack - careful not to burn yourself getting them out.

6. Mix your favorite vanilla frosting recipe, adding a very light blue tint with the blue food coloring (HINT: start by adding only 3 drops. If you need more, add one at a time).

7. When your cupcakes have cooled, frost them with your blue frosting.

8. Lay out either your fruit roll up or laffy taffy and cut into one inch pieces. Pinch the bottom half so it has that leaf look.
 

9. Place one leaf on the right and one leaf on the left side of the cupcake.

10. Drop a pinch of granola on the bottom in between the leaves (this will be your gravel).

11. Put your goldfish on top (I used two).

12. Add the finishing touches by placing two or three large white sprinkles above the fish so it looks like air bubbles.

Ta-da!

Now you've got some pretty impressive cupcakes that LOOK a lot harder to make then they actually are.