Recently my oldest daughter turned 4. I wanted to make her a special cake, but I didn't have the energy to do something really fancy right now (you know, with nursing every 2-3 hours and sleeping less than 5 hours a night). So... I did a couple short cuts.
1. Instead of making a cake 100% from scratch (which I haven't done since back when we only had 3 kids), I used a recipe off of allrecipes which involved using a store bought cake mix and adding some extras (like pudding mix and sour cream). The result was the richest chocolate cake I have ever tasted! It was delicious and SO easy to make!
2. I bought the buttercream frosting from the local grocery store's bakery department. They charge by the tub ($1.99 per tub) and I'm able to get really rich colors already made. Or, I'll ask for a couple colors which I blend together. The frostings are always smooth and super vibrant. I like that it saves me time not having to make the frosting from scratch so I can spend that time decorating the cake instead.
3. For fun decorations to put on the cake, the grocery store bakeries are the place to check! All the cool decorations (and even edible pictures) they use on those cakes are available for sale by asking the person behind the bakery counter!
For only $5 total, I purchased a set of 3 princesses (including a light-up disc that went under one of the princesses)! It would have cost me more to buy those cake decorations online, but at the grocery store they were very reasonable, plus no needing to wait on shipping.
My daughter's 4th. birthday cake wasn't my fanciest cake by far, but my daughters LOVED it and our whole family devoured every bite! Knowing that it was easy to make, personalized just the way my daughter wanted, and that it cost me many $'s less than if I had bought it decorated at the store, made it even sweeter. : )
Other Cake Posts/Pictures:
*Candyland
*Ambulance
*Firetruck
*Spiderdog
*Treasure Chest
*Simple Princess Castle
*Puppy Dog
*Shark Attack Cupcakes
awesome! a 1/4 cup applesauce in choco cake keeps it nice and moist too!
ReplyDeleteGood to know! I love rich, moist chocolate cake so I am going to have to try that recipe out for my younger daughter's first birthday, which is coming up in a few days! My cakes definitely don't look professional, but they're fun to make and I love that I can save money doing it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea!! And it looks super cute!
ReplyDeleteJessica
It's beautiful!! I never thought to buy the frosting from the bakery!!! Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteoh wow!! nice job :)
ReplyDeletethe chocolate cake sounds delicious!!!!
So how are you dealing with little sleep? Did you find quiet activities for nap time for the oldests?
I have about the same (nursing every 2-3h and sleeping about 5 hours..) but I have only this one baby to take care of.. And I get a 1or2h nap every other day.. ;)
Yum!
ReplyDeleteI see you haven't missed a beat...still impressing me with your talents. :)
that is a great cake! Do you just have so much fun figuring them all out? I know i end up eating way too much of the cakes I make and I definitely need to work on my skills, but we share a passion for cake making! HA! I saw your blog through the MBC...hop on over to mine if you want! http://melafamilyblog.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete