Hey Sugar, Sugar!

When the girls had their first few birthdays, it never occurred to me that I could bake their birthday cakes. Any cakes I had made up to that point consisted of boxed mix in a 8x13 pan with frosting and maybe some sprinkle on top. I didn't even take the cake out of the pan until we were serving it. So I bought cupcake cakes from the store for their birthdays. They were cute and always had some type of Princess toy on top. Then Noah's first birthday came along and I couldn't find a cute dinosaur birthday cake for my little guy. Everything at the store was Jurassic Park-style. And then I found this:

I decided to try my hand at making my own cake. I spent a lot of time on the Wilton cake boards and found a ton of great tips. I also found my go-to Buttercream recipe: Bunnywoman's Buttercream
It took me some time but I was really proud of how my first cake turned out!

And I was hooked. I have made every cake for my kids' birthdays and other events since then. It's an awesome creative outlet. Some turn out better then others but I'm getting better. :) I have a crazy amount of cake and other baking ideas on Pinterest and let the girls pick their favorites to base their birthday cakes and school treats on. Some cakes I make from scratch while some I go the quick route and still use boxed. The scratch tastes better but I'm am a working mom with 4 kids. I can only do so much! Here are the other cakes and treats I've made.

Hannah's 7th Birthday: Lorax cake

"Barbie" Cake Pops

 

My sister in law's baby shower cake

The fondant/gumpaste cake topper

Rainbow cupcakes

Avery's 5th Birthday: Candyland

Radiology Tech Week (Radiation Symbol) 2012

Lollipop Cookie Pops

Avery's 4th Birthday: Little Mermaid

Radiology Tech Week (Chest XRay) 2011 

Hannah's 6th Birthday: Hula Barbie

Noah's 2nd Birthday: Thomas the Train

 

 

The more cakes I make, the more tips and tricks I'm learning. I'd love to take a class at some point to learn how to do things for efficiently. I think I have at least one cake to make every month now. Hopefully I can sell some at some point too!