Son of Bonnie makes cakes
Bonnie was my mother, who sadly isn’t around to enjoy her younger grandchildren. One thing I learned from my mother (and one of my sisters confirmed today that she got it, too) is that birthday cakes are made, not purchased. With one exception, J and I have stuck to that rule.
For Ingrid’s fourth, Jennifer suggested an Elmo cake. She bought some new 9″ rounds for this, and I told her I’d take care of it. I told her she was doubting my ability that I could make it, but she says she was just pushing and motivating me. Whatever it was, it worked.
This cake turned out pretty well considering that I don’t really have Martha Stewart approved icing hardware. No offset spatula, no magic frosting recipe. It’s a butter knife and Better Homes and Garden’s butter cream frosting for me. I posted many pictures of the process if you’re curious about how I made it.
Best of all, Ingrid thought it was pretty darn cool. Part of me winces as I ram candles into a cake I’ve just spent hours icing, and I actually cringe when I first hack into it with a knife. Then the kids smear as much on themselves and the table as lands in their mouths, but it’s all such grand fun that I could care less. The look on a child’s face when you set a homemade cake in front of them is worth a lot of work.
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