Have you ever dreamed of making the perfect cake for your kid's birthday? I remember as a child how thrilled I always was with my Mom's wonderful birthday cake creations and I vowed to make my own kids' cakes once I had my own family. I loved the idea of making a really personalized, homemade cake rather than ordering the traditional sheet cake from our local grocery store. I was nervous starting out but soon realized that with a little patience and practice anyone can do this!
Here are some helpful hints that will allow even the busiest moms to bake the perfect birthday cake for their child:
1.) Don't make your cake from scratch. You can save plenty of time by buying the boxed cake mixes and they often taste just as good as a cake made from scratch. In fact, at my most recent kid birthday party I was even asked for my cake recipe because it was so yummy!
2.) Start by using a shaped character pan. They generally have very detailed and easy-to-follow directions. You can also buy them fairly cheaply (check out eBay for affordable used and retired pans).
The first year was like icing.
Then the cake started to show through.
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
3.) Use pre-made decorator or royal icing. I like Wilton's decorator icing since it tastes good and is great for piping since it holds its shape well and dries fairly hard.
4.) Use pre-made and pre-colored fondant. My favorite is Satin Ice since it has a nice vanilla flavor; unlike some other pre-made fondants, and you can get it in a number of different colors. You can also flavor fondant with candy flavoring.
5.) Fun cake toppers can really make a cake sparkle. If you're making a more traditional rectangular or circular cake, you can dress it up with fun cake toppers. This is an easy and affordable way to make a theme cake.
Finally, don't be afraid to try new things!
Much of the ill-tempered railing against women that has characterized the popular writing of the last two years is a half-hearted attempt to find a way back to a more balanced relationship between our biological selves and the world we have built. So women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for not wanting to eat their cake and have it too.
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
Above all, have fun and enjoy the look of delight and pride on your child's face when they see their special cake and tell their friends that their Mommy made it just for them!
Julie is a busy Mom of 3 young children and a Marketing VP at an online startup. She also has her own website, www. CakesAndKids.com, where you can see pics of some of her homemade kids' birthday cakes and get helpful cake decorating ideas and tips.