Celebratory Baking!

I have previously posted some of my creative cake baking exploits - all executed for the sake of the entertainment of my children - but not all that beautiful at the end of the day. (See here and here).

Thanks to my mom, we have much more impressive results to show for our last round of cake baking!

Tater receive the Puzzle Cakes set of funky-shaped silicone cupcake cups for Christmas from Nana. This afternoon we followed the directions (mostly) and we were able to create this FABULOUS fish cake and super FUN bug. The bug was improvised since we had leftover batter, but he turned out cute!

Basically you just arrange the little cups according to the diagram in the box. Fill them up with cake batter (whatever kind you like - ours was Betty Crocker vanilla). Then bake as usual and then ice them when they cool. Very fun and very easy.

We colored vanilla frosting to do the fish - first we put yellow coloring into the frosting tub and did the fins and tail. Then we added a few drops of red coloring to make it all orange and did his middle. The eye is white spray frosting (left over from the gingerbread house project) as is the white on the "bubbles". The black is gel frosting in a little tube. And we had a thing of "ocean" sprinkles so the "bubbles" have little dolphins on them and the fish is sprinkled with little sea turtles.

The bug was just frosted with straight-up vanilla frosting and then sprinkled with red sugar. His details are drawn on with the black gel icing. I think he might have been better with colored frosting...but he's still cute!

We are going to eat these as part of our New Year's Celebration.

First the grown-ups are going out to dinner while the kids go play at My Gym (yay My Gym!) After dinner we will come home and have fizzy drinks in fancy glasses (the kids usually have Sprite while the adults go for a little champagne) and a treat (the cakes).

Then we will have a noise parade around the house. Pots and pans, pot lids and wooden spoons. I didn't get any silly hats this year - but I am sure we will come up with something!

Then the kids go to bed and the grown-ups stay up to see Dick Clark usher in the New Year.

It's not the most glamorous plan - but it works for us. And I am totally anxious to try the cakes!

Happy 2009 to all of you! Let's hope it brings health, happiness and prosperity to all of us. As I remind the kids frequently - you don't have to have money to be rich! (Although a little cash never hurts!)