Why I didn’t just buy a cake for my son:
° Because its too expensive to buy themed cakes!
° Because I just want to start baking my own cakes 🙂
° and Because I want to make happy memories for my kids. These little things make all the difference to a toddler.
How I find time to make these things:
° I have a great hubby who shares my enthusiasm about these little things. He assists me and just patiently waits for my instructions.
° My son takes long afternoon naps. If he doesn’t feel like taking a nap I still ask him to spend the afternoon to read or play quietly in his room. Its a routine that I’d like to keep.
° We try to start our bedtime routine by 7:30pm so that our son would be in bed by 8pm.
(Consistent sleeping time/routine for kids is one of the important things to keep a stay at home mom sane)
° I am used to baby wearing my infant. My little girl is a very light sleeper so when I really need time to do things I sling her or wear her to stretch her naps.
How I made my son’s Crayon Cake:
I baked four 9×13 chocolate cakes. I let them cool for an hour and placed them in the freezer for 5 hours so that I could level it properly (without it crumbling) to get that smooth looking cake. I cut a section of one cake large enough to make room for the 3 ‘crayons’. I then placed 2 cakes side by side (making a 13×18 cake) and placed a thin layer of yellow buttercream frosting before stacking the other 2 cakes on top. The crucial step is making a good crumb coat to easily put the last layer of icing. So I put on a crumb coat and placed in the freezer overnight. The next day, I iced the whole cake making it smooth as possible.
The ‘crayons’ are ice cream cones. I
carefully cut the cones in half with a serrated knife and dipped it in
white chocolate melt with coloring. I let it dry and carefully placed
it on the ‘box’.
The name, number and side decor was cut out from thinly rolled out fondant. I used dark forest green coloring with a tinge of black to make the green more crayola like.
It was my first time ever to make a cake and it won’t be my last. I’m already thinking of what to bake for the 1st birthday of our ilaya 🙂
