Drew's Birthday

Can't believe he is getting so big. He is going into 6th grade this year! He is SUCH a great kid.

His loot: sleeping bag and pad, mess kit, hiking boots, pocket knife, tie, airplane toy, bug spray, camping cookbook and LOTS of money (from his good grandparents...he has been saving up for a catcher's mitt and is now much closer to his goal!)

Up close of the cake...it is made with buttercream frosting, fondant rocks, tent and sleeping bag, and the trees are ice cream cones covered with frosting. It is always so fun to make these cakes for the kids!

Okay, I have totally slacked for the whole summer! I have lots of pictures from our 7 week trip to Idaho that I will work on getting on here in the next few weeks. The kids go back to school on Tuesday and then maybe I can get something done. Anyway, Drew had his 11th Birthday on Monday and I thought I should at least get something up about that. He joined the boy scout troop and so he got a lot of the things he will need for his camping trips for his birthday. He loved everything from the camping cake to his new hiking boots and sleeping pad.

Tasteful Tuesday

Drew's birthday was Sunday and he really wanted a Percy Jackson birthday cake. Percy Jackson is a book series that has a lot of Greek mythology in it and it is huge among the kids Drew's age. I searched all over online looking for a cute cake and couldn't find anything that I liked so I had to come up with something on my own. There is a recipe at the end of this post but it is mostly about this cute birthday cake idea. I know it doesn't really go along with my new low calorie recipes but I have to say, I wasn't even tempted to eat any cake. The rice krispies, on the other hand.... (they are what I used under the fondant). Here is Drew with his cake. We took it to the park for a get together so I didn't get a picture with the candles in.

Here is the Medusa head the girls and I made. Didn't it turn out cute? Ainslee and Kaitlyn did most of it.

In the top picture with Drew in it, I had added the "minitaur horn"...not sure if I liked it on there or not, but he wanted it so I threw it on.

To go with the cake I wanted to make some wave cupcakes but I ended up running out of time and decided to just top the cupcakes with whipped cream. For the cake, I made a jello poke cake, which is one of my favorite cakes to make that takes minimal prep. and tastes really good...not to mention the yummy surprise inside. I also made the cupcakes that way. The recipe is down below. Read through my notes to find out the new buttercream recipe I used.

Jello Poke Cake

1 box cake mix*

1 (4oz) package jello

Cool Whip

Bake cake according to directions. While hot, poke holes in cake and prepare jello according to directions. Spoon jello over cake and then refrigerate until jello is set. Top with cool whip and enjoy!

My Notes:

*any flavor of cake mix is good but you can try these combos: spice cake with orange jello, white cake with any flavor, chocolate cake with cherry or black cherry jello, lemon cake and lemon jello. Whipped cream is the best topping but if you are like me and want to actually decorate the cake, whipped cream doesn't work really well. I found a fun twist on a buttercream frosting that tasted good with the cake but still allowed me to use a cake decorating tip. Use 1/2 cup butter, softened; 4-6 cups powdered sugar; 4-6 tablespoons prepared jello (before it has set up...I poured most of the jello over my cake and cupcakes and then used the small amount that was left to put into the frosting). Beat the butter until fluffy and slowly add in the powdered sugar, alternating with the jello. Continue adding sugar and jello until you reach desired consistency.

Recipe source: Kraft foods

Tasteful Tuesday

I finally have a few minutes to sit here and get this posted. I have been scrambling, trying to get the house ready for all our company coming tonight! Yesterday was Ainslee and Kaitlyn's 8th birthday! So my post for today is from the cake I made for them. It was my first time using fondant to cover the entire cake. I think it turned out pretty well. But, the recipe I want to share with you is what I used for the filling. You can also use it to frost cakes but it doesn't work well for decorating cakes. If you are just making cake for a yummy treat, this is the frosting to use! Or you can do what I did and use it for the filling of your cake. It is sooo yummy and you make it into almost any flavor you want. I might just go make some more to put on graham crackers for a snack!

Best, Easy Frosting

1 pkg. favorite instant pudding

1 cup milk

1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

1 (8oz) tub cool whip

Mix pudding, milk, and powdered sugar, if using, until well blended. Stir in cool whip and refrigerate for a few minutes, until set up. Spread on cake, graham crackers, etc.

Birthday Cake

Luckily, I had just finished working on the birthday cake before I left to go break my leg. I always have lots of fun making the kids birthday cakes and this one was super fun and Bronson was able to help in lots of ways. I found the directions on Family Fun but will give you the basics below.

I made 2 round cakes for the base. Then I made 12 cupcakes and baked the left over batter in a bread pan. 3 cupcakes made up the silo and I used the cake in the bread pan to make the barn. I used the pull and peel licorice to cover the barn and silo with chex cereal for the roof. For the little animals, I used Chocolate chips for the eyes, starburst candy for the ears, halved big marshmallows for the noses. For the chicks, I colored the coconut and used orange and lemon slices (candy) for the beak and wings. For the cows spots I just melted some chocolate chips and spread it on.