Sports Party (Part 1)

OK, I am waaaay behind with everything I need to post, and my parties are starting to double up.  

So here’s one from a while ago……..

I was thrilled when my son asked for a really simple party theme.

I dreamt of all the extra time I would have after I finished baking and decorating all the desserts the night before the party.

Until this cake happened:

“It’s a super simple cake,” you say?

Yes, perhaps it is.

Except I couldn’t figure out how to draw the sports balls on the trim.

I tried to do the designs with fondant on fondant, and it looked ridiculous.

I tried to pipe the designs on with frosting, and it was worse.

After a long time, I finally decided to draw them on with edible marker.

And then I just couldn’t draw the soccer ball design, no matter how hard I tried.

I know, it sounds crazy, but I just couldn’t.

Here are 2 more cakes, to distract you from my complaining:

 

Can you believe I got no good pics of these cakes??

 

 

 

So back to the original cake– it took me like 3 hours until I finally figured it out.

I must have been seriously tired.

I don’t want to see sports ever again.

Well, except for part 2 of this party post (with the other desserts).  

Promise I won’t complain– and here’s the final cake:

See you soon!

 

Olaf Party (Part 2)

I’m finally back with Part 2 of my Olaf Party!

This might be my last post for a little while because we are moving!

If you read the Part 1 post, you know I’m allergic to Alabama… so… you know…  🙂

Anyway, here are the cake balls (supposed to be snowballs).

I’m embarrassed to post Olaf because I made a mess– but my son liked him, so here he is:

Who would’ve known that it was nearly impossible for me to make a decent-looking fondant Olaf?!?!  I sat there for hours and finally gave up.  Here’s the final product.

These are the snow-covered pretzels.

No, it’s not really snow.

Yes, it’s chocolate.

OK, can we move along now?

The mini cupcakes:

I made the chocolate snowflake toppers.

On these, I put little homemade fondant confetti.  Yes, there is such a thing. I made it up.

The little snowflake cookies (I cheated– I make these for Christmas, so they were easy):

And finally, my bigger snowflake cookies.

They came out the wrong shade and I had no time to re-do them, so they got banned from the dessert table.

I’m serious.

In fact, I threw them out as punishment.

I’m joking.

About the punishment, not the banning.  Really.

Oh why, blue, did you come out wrong???

I left them off the table, but I did give them to the kids as they each went home.

Sweet little kids– no one was offended by the wrong shade of blue!  🙂

And here are a few of the little extras (not all) I had for the party:

Now I have to pack.  See you next time!

Olaf Party (Part 1)

I’m back!

Ok, you probably didn’t know I was gone in the first place… but… I’m back anyway!

After over 9 weeks of daily headaches and dizziness,  I found out I’m allergic to Alabama!  🙂

Feeling a little better now, but who cares–  here’s Olaf!

I decided to do a very easy dessert table because we’ve been too busy.

And it worked!  Olaf was really simple to make.

My son was extra happy about his nose.  He said I made it look like a real carrot:

And here’s the second cake (yes, there were only 2 this time– I can’t believe it!):

(Wow, lots of exclamation points in this post.  Moving along…)

I love my new snowflake fondant cutters!

So nothing extravagant– but the kids liked it.

Stay tuned for the rest of the dessert table in Part 2!

 

Robot Party (Part 2)

OK, I’m back with the rest of the desserts for the Robot Party.

These are usually my favorite desserts to make because they are waaaaay easier than the cakes.

Well, the cookies were not my favorites for this party (I hope that’s not considered complaining because I promised I wouldn’t complain this time!).

They took forever because no matter what I did, they didn’t look like robots.

Monsters? Puppets?  Weird faces that come out of your TV?  Anything but robots!!!

Finally I ran out of time and convinced myself that robots can look like anything you want.  Right?  OK.

Because of those cookies, I had no time for any more robot-themed desserts, and had to settle on color-scheme desserts.

Here are the mini cupcakes:

 I had no sprinkles that were those exact colors, so I made the dots out of fondant.

Yes, it took a lot of time– but I was happy that they matched perfectly!

And some chocolate-dipped marshmallows for the kids to take home:

 And the cake balls:

And finally, the usual  just-in-case-we-run-out-of-desserts brownies:

And that’s it!!  Another party done!

Robot Party (Part 1)

This party nearly killed me.

Well, not the party– it was the robot cake:

He was over a foot tall…

Not like some weird horror movie where the robot comes to life and runs after me with a sharp spatula or something — it’s just that it was probably the most difficult cake yet.

I named him Dudley while I was putting him together.

I was not happy with Dudley.

In fact, I don’t think I will be making any more of these crazy cakes in the future.  I’ll stick to normal cakes.

Yes, you can blame Dudley for that…

I also made an “easy” robot cake:

It was not nearly as difficult as Dudley, but my hand nearly fell off from piping.

And since I had literally no time left for another cake (believe me, there are more desserts coming up in Part 2), I threw together this cake:

It didn’t look as awful as this picture! Just didn’t get a good picture of it.

Not sure why I feel compelled to make at least 3 cakes.

It’s a curse.

I know, it’s the same thing for every party: I nearly die of overbaking, then I don’t like the end products, then I post them and complain, and then I do it all over again.  

I’m so predictable.  🙂

OK, see you for Part 2!  No complaining then, I promise!

 

 

Outer Space Party (Part 2)

The 3 cakes I made for the Outer Space party were not enough (in my mind), so I made more desserts…

Mini cupcakes and regular size cupcakes, with fondant decorations.

I made a lot of stars because originally, my son asked for a  star party (he’s only 5, so I guess that was exciting for him).

When I asked what kind of cakes he wanted, he said, “Five star cakes!  And star cupcakes, star cookies…”  

I stopped him and suggested an Outer Space party, because I figured the desserts would be more fun…  and of course, I can’t just take the easy route.

So, I also made sugar cookies for the kids to take home:

And I felt bad for the adults, so I made smaller cookies for everyone to eat at the party:

I made “Asteroids,” which were actually banana cake balls:

And just in case there weren’t enough desserts, I made my just-in-case-brownies:

And that was about it– we had enough!!  Phew!

OK, next party coming soon!!!  🙂

 

Outer Space Party (Part 1)

Wow, I’m really behind with these posts.  It’s been a crazy couple of months… birthday parties, trip to Disney, out-of-town guests, Easter, tornadoes, road trips, 2 graduations, a cruise… well, you get the idea.

Basically, the usual.

OK, let’s start with my son’s Outer Space party.

I decided to make easy cakes this time:

This cake was over a foot long.

As easy as it seems, it took a ridiculously long time. 

Luckily, the Happy Birthday cake was a lot easier.

Instead of making it all in fondant, I used buttercream frosting, with fondant decorations:

 

Then my 5-year-old wanted me to make little chocolate astronauts (I bought a mold), but  I thought they looked funny.  

He insisted.

I made them for him.

Then I hid them, hoping he’d forget. 

But of course, he didn’t forget.

I even distracted him with a bunch of other desserts.

He still asked for them.

I acted like I didn’t know what he was talking about.

He described them.

I gave up.

I took them out of the hiding place and set them out with a quick planet cake I whipped up:

Yeah, I don’t even want to talk about it.  Lol.

But he was happy with it, so that’s all that matters.  Right???

OK, as long as you know that I didn’t approve of the cake…  Moving right along…

Check out the rocket piñata my husband made (it was over 3 feet long)!

And let’s end with the cheese cut out in star shapes.  I was really excited about these, for some reason:

See you for Part 2!

 

 

Pirate Party (Part 2)

I almost forgot the rest of the Pirate Party desserts!

These are my favorite because they’re much easier than the cakes, and I can make them ahead of time.

And there was no drama, no crying, no dropping anything (well, I did drop one cookie), no freaking out, no throwing food at people… well you get the picture.    🙂

I made sugar cookies:

Chocolate lollipops for the kids to take home.  They were rather large lollipops!

Cupcakes, of course:

I made the fondant toppers.

Little brownie pirate boats:

And pirate marshmallows.  I saw these online and couldn’t resist:

Dipped them in chocolate and drew faces with an edible marker. Super easy and they were the first to disappear!

Well, the boys seemed to enjoy the desserts.

And I did my best to feed the parents when they came to pick them up.

All in all, a success!

FYI- this is a big dining room table…

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Pirate Party (Part 1)

My son wanted a pirate party, and I figured a pirate ship cake wouldn’t be too difficult.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m insane.

I don’t know why, but it was one of the most difficult cakes yet!

Everything was edible, except the sails. The board it’s on is almost 2 feet long.

I wasn’t completely happy with it, but my son loved it, and that’s all that matters.

Then I made a simple Happy Birthday cake:

And as I was dreaming up the dessert table, I felt like I needed to make another cake– a treasure chest!  Not sure why, considering I had other desserts, plus 2 cakes already, and the party was for only 13 boys.  

It must be my obsessive baking problem.

Well, at 2am the night before the party, I was kicking myself for having decided on a third cake.  I  had been on my feet for 18 hours straight, and could barely keep my eyes open.

But I made it anyway.

And then my husband told me the treasure chest looked awful.

Yes, he went there.  (Mind you, he was tired too.)

So I picked up the cake and threw it at him.

OK, that was only in my mind.  🙂

I actually worked on it some more (because he was right), and made it look somewhat presentable:

Although I have to say, when one of the boys arrived, he immediately went to open the treasure chest.  As I gasped, wondering if it would all fall apart before the party even began, he exclaimed, “Whoa! I didn’t realize it was a cake!”  

Nice.  Win for me.  🙂

 

Silly Monster Party (Part 2)

I’m finally back with Part 2 of the Silly Monster Party!

I just realized I never posted it, and now it’s almost  time for the next party.

Wow, I feel tired just from saying that.

So let’s get started.  Here are the silly monster cookies, packaged for the kids to take home:

Yes, I insisted on making every single monster face different. 

I have NO idea why I make things difficult for myself.   🙂

I also made smaller cookies for people to eat at the party:

(I somehow managed to forget to take a picture of them on the serving platter, so it’s a less appealing picture!)

I also had cupcakes:

I made the monsters out of fondant.

And I made mini blue raspberry jello cups:

Yep, I drew the little faces on each cup.

Some lime cake balls:

See the creepy eyeballs?

And of course, brownies.  I think of these as my emergency backup dessert– you know, in case I run out of everything else. 

Which I never do.  

But still, just in case.

And that was all I had time for.  I wish I could’ve done more.

I know, you can say it.  I’m crazy.   🙂

Silly Monster Party (Part 1)

Yet another party!

My son wanted a monster party this year, but he’s only 4, so they had to be “silly monsters.”  I didn’t want a bunch of little kids to be scared of the cakes, after all.

So here is the second tiered cake I ever made! 

I made the little monsters out of fondant. The cakes were dark chocolate and orange.

And for those of you who notice details– NO, I did not leave the letters crooked.

I hadn’t attached the letters yet.  

I promise.  

OK, then I made a big silly monster (he was about  a foot tall, and the board he’s on was 20″ x 12″):

He was made up of vanilla, strawberry, and lemon cakes.

Seriously, I thought my hand was going to fall off while piping the frosting.  

So much craziness, but he turned out like I pictured him.  Except I hadn’t pictured me sitting there for hours working on it!

After an hour, I was cursing myself for deciding to make an extra cake.

After 2 hours, I was ready to smash him.

But anyway, I don’t want to bore you with the details of my looooong cake-decorating session.

Before I go, here is the piñata my husband made:

It was my son who requested 4 eyes– placed exactly as you see them. I know, I thought it was weird, too.

Honestly, I told him to get a box, draw a monster face on it, and call it a day.

But nooooo… he insisted on arms, legs… the works. (I think he has some kind of piñata-making rivalry going on with one of his friends). 

Believe me, it was complicated to make, and he reinforced it to allow all the kids to get 2 turns– and even some parents.  

OK, there you have it– until Part 2… the rest of the dessert table!

See you then!

Minions Party (Part 2)

So here is the rest of the stuff from the Minion Party!

And I feel like it still wasn’t enough variety…  Maybe next party, when my finger is better.

Each child took home a sugar cookie:

Some cupcakes had mini fondant Minions on them, and some had sprinkles.   🙂

By the way, my husband helped with the fondant on the cakes as usual, but this time he had to help even more because of my broken finger.

He actually had to help with cleanup, like washing all the baking pans and cooling racks, and getting stuff out of the oven, and handing me stuff… Hmmm…  now that I think about it… what if my finger never stopped being broken?  You know, it could just happen to stay broken for years.  That would be terrible… 

Oops, sorry, got distracted.

Anyway, I also made banana cake balls (Minions like bananas):

And finally, some plain brownies.

Just because.  🙂

I’ll try for more next time!!

Minions Party (Part 1)

My son decided he wanted a Minions party for his birthday.

I, of course, said sure– how hard could it be?

Someone really needs to slap me out of my dream world sometimes.

These guys were tough to make!

These are chocolate, white, and strawberry cakes.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I had to do all this with a broken finger?

Yes, I broke my finger 13 days ago playing basketball with my son…

As much as I hate to have a broken finger, at least I can say I have a “sports injury.”

I mean, what if I had broken it while washing dishes or something?  Pretty embarrassing.  

But catching a basketball?  Yeah, I’m cool.  🙂

I made a yellow sheet cake, because the other 2 were apparently not enough…

You do think I’m cool, don’t you?

Well…?

Umm, ok, maybe when you see the rest of the Minion stuff I did with a broken finger in my next post…

Super Mario Brothers Party (Part 2)

So here are the rest of the desserts I made for the Super Mario party.

The cupcakes were my favorite. They had buttercream frosting with a fondant topper.

I actually had fun making these, unlike the Luigi cake that drove me crazy– and made me want to quit baking forever.  Or at least until next week.

Anyway, I did bake a lot for this party– but I only put out enough for the 9 boys.

So of course it looks like it wasn’t too time-consuming.

I beg to differ.

No, I’m not complaining.  Moving on…

Here are the sugar cookies:

Cloud Cookies

Coin Cookies

Frosted brownies:

Star Brownies

And finally, cake balls.  My son wanted them red and green because Mario and Luigi are Italian. 

Green was pineapple and red was strawberry!!

I fought with the chocolate the entire time.

I tried all different ways of melting it, so it would coat the cake smoothly.

I even threatened it.

And I lost the chocolate melting fight.  Once again.

But at least they tasted really yummy!

Super Mario Brothers Party (Part 1- Luigi Cake)

My son told me he didn’t want a huge birthday party this year.  Just his best friends over at the house.

I thought this was going to be easy… until he said he still wanted a dessert table. 

With a Luigi cake.

This turned out to be the most difficult cake yet:

At one point, I wanted to ‘accidentally’ drop it on the floor, and just go with the cupcakes.

But with my husband’s help, I finally finished it about 3 hours before the boys arrived.

I’m not too thrilled with it, but it was the best I could do in the time I had. 

How cool is this??

I have more Super Mario baked goods that I will have to post later this week. But for now, here are the chocolate mustaches I made for each boy.

They loved holding them up to their faces and acting silly.

Oh, and the “non-party” ended up being nine 9-year-old boys in my house for 5 hours.

Yeah, and I thought it would be easy.  Ha!

🙂

Pinata (made by my husband)