T's MONSTER PARTY!!!!

My nephew turned 1 on Friday!!! His party plan came together when I came across a site for these adorable knit mini-monsters! T's aunt knitted these little critters for T to give out to all of his family as part of his party favor. The other part of the party favor, I thought, was a great idea! It was a photo album with a photo of the birthday boy, from each of the previous 12 months - it was ADORABLE!!!! 

Because this was a 1 year old's birthday party, we wanted the food and snacks to be enjoyed by every age! My absolute favorite thing at the party, other than the birthday boy, was this fruit monster! Sooo fun for the kids, and healthy too!

T's cake was a fairly simple decision, he is a banana monster, so it was a no brainer when we decided on a roasted banana cake with a vanilla buttercream. For the cupcakes, we opted for a delicious carrot cake base with traditional yummy cream cheese frosting!

Before the birthday boy attacked his green monster, I decided to take a last picture of the cake, cupcakes and cute little knit monsters - as one big happy family!

The party was a huge hit! as were the cupcakes and cake. I love it when there is next to nothing left by the time the presents are being opened!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MONSTER T !!!!!

SWEETER THAN HUNNY!

Hmmmm...where to start??? With the birthday boy of course!!! I had the pleasure of making cupcakes for D's baptism last year, so his mom and I have been planning this birthday cake ever since!!! To describe D, I would ask you to take every sweet word/emotion and then top it off with a huge smile - and that just about sums him up over this past year! Upon arriving at his party, it was obvious that D is very much loved - a large group of people, family and friends, with open arms; offering up wonderful food, drinks, laughter and even a few tidbits of Greek history - Thank You Pappou!

The Party had a Winnie the Pooh theme, so naturally, the cake would reflect that! This, by far, has been my most challenging baking endeavor! I'm kind of one of those personalities that is 'all in'! Even though I have no formal training in baking, I enjoy challenges and often surprise myself with what I can do. This cake is exactly what I wanted it to be - visually appealing, and Delicious!!! This cake was based on Poohs' House and was entirely made of cake, covered in modeling chocolate. I used modeling chocolate instead of fondant because I have yet to find a recipe that tastes yummy and has that smooth quality that store-bought fondant has....and who wouldn't want a chocolate covered cake anyway???

D's mommy also requested a 'smash cake' and left it to my creativity, so I decided to continue with the Pooh Bear theme. What is Pooh's favorite thing to do? Eat Hunny! and where does Poohs Hunny come from? The Bee hive!!!

Bee Hive Smash Cake
Vanilla Cake layered with Chocolate Buttercream, covered in Yellow Vanilla Buttercream

The main birthday cake was enjoyed by all, and it was so rewarding to see everyone eating it up! This is why I love doing this! It's amazing how a few ingredients whipped up together can make people so happy!



Bottom Tier: Marble cake layered with Chocolate Buttercream covered in modeling chocolate
Trunk Tier: Vanilla cake layered with Dulce De Leche Buttercream covered in modeling chocolate

 What I loved most about this cake was the attention to detail. It was fun to create a birthday scene with a mixture of modeling chocolate, fondant, buttercream and accessories.

As much as I loved baking and decorating this cake, it was a pleasure to cut into it and serve it to all of the loved ones in D's life.

What a fantastic first year D! I look forward to what the next year brings us!


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