Jonah’s 8th Birthday!
It’s my son Jonah’s birthday! I cannot believe he is turning 8 years old. Seems like yesterday I was bringing this little guy home from the hospital.
Jonah was a bit of a colicky baby. It was a hard transition becoming a Mom. There were way too many sleepless nights and having to sleep with baby Jonah in may arms. As he got older, it became easier. Jonah was an amazing eater as a baby/toddler. He would eat anything, except avocados. But as he grew older, he got to be much pickier. He will eat any fruit and vegetable in the grocery store- like really, what child cheers when you bring home asparagus!? But he is super picky about his proteins.
Jonah is a very smart, funny, matter of fact yet stubborn little boy and I love him for all that he is. This year, he became super into the Pokémon phenomenon. He has started collecting the cards, started reading Pokémon books and watching the TV show- all day, everyday Pokémon. So, it was only appropriate that I make him a Pokémon cake. It worked out perfectly in terms of the design that he was turning 8, because I was able to make the Poke ball with the division being in the middle of the 8. I baked up 2 circle cakes- one vanilla and one chocolate using a basic cake recipe I found online. If you are not an avid baker, you can short cut by using a boxed cake- no judgement here. For the 8, I cut out circles in the middle of the cakes and a small dent on one of cakes so they can fit together nicely and then I decorated it!
Here I have listed some cake decorating tips and tricks I have learned along the way. And then you too can decorate a cake worth gossiping about.
Jonah’s 8th Birthday!
CAKE DECORATING TIPS:
1. Choose a nice cake recipe- I used one vanilla and one chocolate. Can also use a box mix if you’re not a great baker. If you need to trim any of the cake to even out or shape it, make sure it’s completely cooled and use a serrated knife.
2. Make a buttercream frosting that will hold shape. I made a simple one using butter, vegetable shortening, cornstarch, water and vanilla. Once you made the frosting, you want to cover the cake in a thin layer of the frosting as a base and then place in fridge to harden. This will keep cake together and prevent the crumbs from loosening into the frosting when decorating.
3. Place your buttercream in a piping bag and choose a flower tip.
4. Make sure your icing doesn’t get too warm or it won’t pipe properly. Sometimes you may have to take a break and put in fridge for 10 minutes if you notice it’s starting to get too runny.
5. To outline any picture you can use parchment paper and trace a photo onto it. Using piping gel, you can outline a mirror image of the design and invert it onto the cake. Now you can trace and fill with piping dots.
6. Pipe the dots very small next to each other. The dots are forgiving so no worries.
7. If you want to use fondant- I would buy it ready made in the colour you want. Then use a non-stick mat and roll it out using icing sugar. Do not use flour. Mold it and shape it as desired. It’s super easy to use like playdoh. If it gets too powdery from the sugar- you can paint with a thin layer of vodka and will be good as new.
