Grow Your Own Magazine

I do this every year without fail! Three daughters and you'd think I'd have learnt by now...BUY THE CAKE FROM A SUPERMARKET!

Don't get me wrong - I do make great cakes (OH waistline is testament to that ) but for every birthday I try to be clever and make a really special shape or theme and end up stressed the night before, having nightmares about how exactly you make realistic, edible curtains for a dollshouse cake or something similar.

Middle Daughter is obsessed with turtles, so this year guess what her cake is? Only problem is it has to be in chocolate icing (OH doesn't like any other type!) and I'm stuck as to how to put the detail on the shell without my icing bag which has disappeared into the kitchen abyss! Its going to be a long night

Is it just me?

No!

If you have any freezer bags, snip a tiny corner off one and use that as an icing bag.

I had a terrible experience at the weekend... the birthday boy (3) requested a chocolate cake (check!) in a rabbit shape (check!) with sweeties on top (check!). All would have been great had I not knocked over the mould when prematurely checking if it was done Cue a horrible oozing out of the entire rabbit guts! I managed to quickly melt some chocolate and pour it into the gap. I told the kids it was a deliberate design feature

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http://thankyouforthedays.blogspot.com/

Always look on the bright side of life...
I mean - what have you got to lose?
You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!

No Pootle, you're definitely not alone.
I did the youngest stepson a cake the other year, he's into football, so I decided to do the hexagonal design of the football in black and white roll out icing (which for some reason I made myself instead of buying ready-made )
OH found it highly amusing when he came down to the kitchen and found me with greaseproof paper stretched over the boy's football, trying to trace a hexagon shape from the ball itself.
Never again, unless all they want is a victoria jam sponge!
Steve makes a wicked chocolate brownie cake which the boy requested this year, so that was me off the hook!

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I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

sorry,only just picked up your thread so may be too late for suggestions?have you considered using sweetie shoelaces to mark out the shell shape?you can get green apple flavoured ones,;I haven't got a very steady hand with the icing bag & used these for the detail on my sons dalek cake.
now tip for a tip!!!my daughters birthday next w\e & she'd like a fairy themed cake that tinkles when you carry it & the best bit as you make the 1st cut lots of butterflies need to fly out!!!??fairy theme-sussed;tinkling-possibly sussed;butterflies!?-not a chance!!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Hahahahaha, this made me laugh a lot. Sounds just like me
I make great cakes too, but the stress...!!! It wouldn't be so bad if you could do it on a fruit cake, which last for ages so the decorating can go on for ages. But kids don't do fruit cake, do they? So you end up making sponge cake which has to be decorated in about 24 hours, and bald patches by the time it's done! Twice I've done wedding cakes, but never again, I nearly had a nervous breakdown after the last one
I'm quite lucky in that our local kitchen shop hires out those Wilton cake tins which bake a cake with an imprint on it, and you decorate them like 'painting by numbers'. I've even bought a few off eBay - a pumpkin, a Barbie & a Harry Potter

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

OOhh that sounds so sensible Sarzwix!!!

You have all given me potential nigtmares tonight as the toddler is too small to be fussy yet, but is starting to be fussy about clothes so I can foresee a whole load of trouble (and to make it worse, her birthday is Boxing Day!! So up all night Xmas Eve putting together whatever Santa needs help with, and all night Xmas Night making birthday cakes - I can see years of fun ahead of me.....

This is probably me being dull, but why not make a load of pick sized cakes, and decorate these with chocolate or icing, and put collectively on a plates for the candles to be blown out. All the children get their own mini cakes, could easily be arranged into age of child, lush I still love picks (that how we refer to them), and to do my age you need a lot of picks.

Friends of ours (twins born on 23rd Dec and daughter on 26th - talk about bad planning!) cunningly started holding their childrens birthday parties in the summer - ie: a half year birthday if that makes any sense.

And because its always been that way they're all really happy with it! They get family pressies on the actual day but party/friends etc all happen mid-year.

Right - off to ice the cake now (deep breath!) thanks for all your suggestions1

Jeez pootle, 1 party is enough. I don't make the cake, but I cook everything else, we had about 40 odd at the last party adults aswell, it was a catering headache. 2 would be torture.

How did it go Pootle? Hope you're still sane

Winged One, these are the sort of tins I mean;

WILTON Minnie Mouse Cake Tin (Disney) on eBay, also Cake Tins, Cookware, Kitchen, Home Garden (end time 20-Jun-08 16:31:41 BST)

Wilton Ariel / Little Mermaid Character Cake Tin on eBay, also, Cake Decorating, Crafts (end time 20-Jun-08 17:12:30 BST)

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Hi all - yes I am still alive!

It all went really well - the turtle/tortoise looked and tasted great. I followed your advice and used apple bootlaces to make the pattern on the shell and something for him to eat. MD was suitably impressed and I am officially no longer a BAD MOTHER. Hurrah!

I now have a break of being a domestic goddess until Youngest Daughter's birthday in September...I might go and hide the cake books now

Thanks for all the advice everyone

Well Done!!if i'm still catching you in domestic godess mode...any ideas on how to get the butterflies to pop out of mine!!??LOL
think of me this time next week going thru the same panics as you!
did you take a piccie?

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

I encourage my childrens own creativity, (or at least that is what I tell them) and buy the huge tray bake cakes from tesco (less than a £5 and really tasty, 15 large slices too) buy writing icing and smarties or similar and hand the decorating over to them.
We have always done it this way and they love it, infact if I bought a decorated cake, or even worse, made one and decorated it myself, they would kill me!!!

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http://clairescraftandgarden.blogspot.com/

We did take photos - I'll post them tomorrow!

As to the butterflies - my Dad always put these wind up butterflies into the girls birthday cards, when you open the card the butterfly is released. They're made from a thin metal frame covered in paper with an elastic band in the middle...wonder whether that would work in a cake?

Sorry, you were being serious weren't you...?

my daughter a bit more serious than me!!isn't it lovely how they think mummy can do [i]anything!!a friend has suggested she could hide under the table & secretly throw them in the air just as i slice the cake!!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Explain that if you put butterflies inside the cake, then you'll have to have a big hole in it and there won't be enough cake to eat? Then buy some different colours of roll-out (fondant/sugarpaste) icing and a butterfly shaped cutter, and stick them on the outside, each guest can then take one home?
Squires Kitchen online shop are great for decorating stuff if you haven't anywhere local.


Squires Kitchen - Inspired by Food Online

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

she's having a main party for her school friends sun a.m & then another for"old friends" in the afternoon. I think i've got it sussed that i'll make a fairyland scene cake with mini muffin toadstool ring on top & make extra toadstools to put in a.m part bags without having to make 2nd cake for afternoon.my problem now is andi & his ideas!!!!apparently a fairycastle would be quite easy to make to go on top of fairy scene!!would normally be up for the challenge but having dental treatment under sedation on saturday so dont really want to be putting too much pressure on myself! My God if flying butterflies weren't enough to contend with now daddy wants a castle!!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

p.s Sarah.I don't dare look at your link!!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Tell Daddy, if he wants castles perhaps he should bake it himself

I've just spent ages looking at that Squires Kitchen link Managed not to buy anything though

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Hey, castles are easy! Use bought swiss rolls for the towers, mini marshmallows for the crenellations on top and either a round or square (depending on your preference) victoria sandwich for the main castle. Dessicated coconut coloured green makes great grass, playmobil knights/princesses/horses add to it nicely and you can make the doors/arrow slits out of ready roll icing.