Birthdays
Many people know that I love cooking and a few years ago I stumbled into cake making. Over the last couple of years I have churned out birthday cakes, anniversary cakes, special occasion cakes and a myriad of my favourite - cupcakes. I'm just an amateur cake decorator who does it for a hobby though no doubt if I wanted to take it to a new level I could. But I'm happy to just make a few cakes every now and again for friends and family as I am still a way off being 'professional.'
My own boys have watched me evolve and grow with my cakes and have quite often asked if they could help me. Unfortunately, not only is their mother a perfectionist but she is also someone who likes to take the glory for her own creations!! They have played around with a bit of fondant and my youngest son is actually very adept at making a cake from scratch when the mood takes him.
Over the years the boys have had all sorts of birthday cakes. Last year's cakes, as ordered by the boys, was a soccer pitch cake with matching cupcakes in the shape of various balls; and an iPad cake with matching cupcakes with apps on it (you can check out my cooking page at Salmela Family Cakes to see them).
Well, birthdays came around once again (my boys birthday's are 3 weeks apart) so I asked them in plenty of time what they would like. I was thinking of all kinds of theme's as my eldest was turning the big 13 and my youngest is a minecraft fan. I was doing my own research on the Internet to look for ideas and challenges that I could try. I like trying new things with my boys because it doesn't matter if I stuff it up!!!
But when both my boys came back to me with their idea, I probably should not have been as surprised as I was. Both wanted to decorate their own cakes. The only part I was to play in it was to bake it. They both wanted to go shopping and choose their own decorations and be left to their own imaginations.
In some ways this was a bit of a relief for me as we'd hit a very busy time in our lives and it would have taken a certain amount of stress to do a big and complicated cake. So I totally agreed that this year was going to be their year to decorate their cakes the way they wanted it.
Master turning 13 wanted a 'pinata' cake - filled with his favourite lollies and covered in chocolate. On the day before his birthday he also decided that his mother could in fact make a couple of small decorations, namely a soccer ball and a guitar - his two favourite things. He hadn't counted on the fact that anything made with fondant needed at least a few days to set so he had to get a very quick and rather rushed version of what I could have done. Still - he was happy and that was all that mattered.
So here is Master 13's cake that I baked and ganached but he helped fill with lollies and decorated the top (except for the writing). We we all very proud of his cake and it was a mouthful of chocolate goodness that was enjoyed by many.
My own boys have watched me evolve and grow with my cakes and have quite often asked if they could help me. Unfortunately, not only is their mother a perfectionist but she is also someone who likes to take the glory for her own creations!! They have played around with a bit of fondant and my youngest son is actually very adept at making a cake from scratch when the mood takes him.
Over the years the boys have had all sorts of birthday cakes. Last year's cakes, as ordered by the boys, was a soccer pitch cake with matching cupcakes in the shape of various balls; and an iPad cake with matching cupcakes with apps on it (you can check out my cooking page at Salmela Family Cakes to see them).
Well, birthdays came around once again (my boys birthday's are 3 weeks apart) so I asked them in plenty of time what they would like. I was thinking of all kinds of theme's as my eldest was turning the big 13 and my youngest is a minecraft fan. I was doing my own research on the Internet to look for ideas and challenges that I could try. I like trying new things with my boys because it doesn't matter if I stuff it up!!!
But when both my boys came back to me with their idea, I probably should not have been as surprised as I was. Both wanted to decorate their own cakes. The only part I was to play in it was to bake it. They both wanted to go shopping and choose their own decorations and be left to their own imaginations.
In some ways this was a bit of a relief for me as we'd hit a very busy time in our lives and it would have taken a certain amount of stress to do a big and complicated cake. So I totally agreed that this year was going to be their year to decorate their cakes the way they wanted it.
Master turning 13 wanted a 'pinata' cake - filled with his favourite lollies and covered in chocolate. On the day before his birthday he also decided that his mother could in fact make a couple of small decorations, namely a soccer ball and a guitar - his two favourite things. He hadn't counted on the fact that anything made with fondant needed at least a few days to set so he had to get a very quick and rather rushed version of what I could have done. Still - he was happy and that was all that mattered.
So here is Master 13's cake that I baked and ganached but he helped fill with lollies and decorated the top (except for the writing). We we all very proud of his cake and it was a mouthful of chocolate goodness that was enjoyed by many.
Master 13's cake masterpiece.
A few weeks later is was Master turning 11's turn to create his own masterpiece and he was very definite about what he wanted. Lollies, lollies and more lollies. He didn't want too much chocolate around it as he found his brother's cake far too sweet for him and is a much bigger fan of butter cream. He chose the colors and the lollies and painstakingly sat at the table and decorated it to his own pattern and specifications (no surprise for an Aspie). He was extremely chuffed with his creation and declared that he shall go into cake decorating with me from now on!!!
Master 11 has declared his intention to cake decorate with me.
So it does appear that I may have come competition after all. Well done boys. I hope they continue in their enthusiasm so that one day they'll be making birthday cakes for their own children!
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