Friday, June 21, 2013

Birthday Re-Do

Last week I became the mother of a teenager. My oldest child Preston turned 13. We've been planning on taking him to Lagoon but have had to re-schedule three times so far. Since I was planning on the amusement park and not feeling very celebratory his birthday consisted of an Olive Garden take-out lunch. Honestly I didn't think he cared, until a few days later when he sadly told me it was the worst birthday ever. So I asked him for a do-over.
 
Now let me tell you: I don't bake. Really. In fact we were at the LQS and I mentioned I was baking a cake. The ladies were full of encouragement but I told them I'm a horrible baker. Before they could offer more words of encouragement my younger two piped up "No really, she's not" Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence kids. :o)
 
I've come to accept this fact over the years. My talents are in other area (have you seen my quilts? fabric? argyle sock collection?) Nevertheless I decided to make a cake for my first born.
I chose a Minecraft cake. Are you familiar? Being that I'm not a baker it's only fitting that I chose to bite off more than I can chew for an elaborate-for-me cake.

 
I baked four 8" rounds of Texas Sheet cake. Used my Mom's famous chocolate frosting recipe and layered the four cakes. Then I cut them down to a square (cube). At this point I almost waved the white flag and admitted defeat. Half of the cake was crumbling away. But I summoned the spirit of Cake Boss and powered through. I had middle child helping me and cheering me on. I managed to cover the whole thing in chocolate frosting - a tasty glue to hold it all together. Then I battled the fondant.
 
I'd heard that marshmallow fondant was relatively easy to use and it was, just horribly messy. Powdered sugar everywhere. Oh, and I had to divide it and make 7 different colors. GAH!
My quilting experience came in handy when cutting the tiles. Middle child helped me with color placement on the dirt block; Grass on top, dirt and rock on the sides. The tiles definitely helped cover the horrendous frosting job and helped form a block.
 
 
After all was said and done I was pretty pleased with the finished product. And I think my teenager liked it too, what do you think?
 
His birthday re-do was a success! A fun and tasty cake, several Minecraft themed presents, his own 2 liter of Dr. Pepper (like Mother, like Son) and homemade Potato salad and Gourmet sandwiches for dinner.
(side note: I spent 6 consecutive hours in the kitchen yesterday. A record for me. Today I'm sore like I worked out at the gym. Um...I think I may be a bit out of shape :o)
 
His actual birthday may have been the worst but this Birthday re-do will go down in history as the best ever! Thanks for giving me a second chance.
 Love you P-nut!

8 comments:

Yvonne said...

Happy birthday to Preston and wat a great cake you have made! Not onlu did you make A cake but a really awsome one that looks like a real challange. Good job!

Unknown said...

What a fantastic cake, you must be proud of your effort. I can see by the look on your sons face he is really pleased. I'm glad his birthday ended the way he wanted. Regards wendy

Rennie said...

Great job and you are a fantastic mother. You know for sure what Preston needs.

Ellie Q said...

Nice job! And really, how it tastes count just as much as how it looks. :)

Cindy Sharp said...

Happy birthday to your boy. Great idea to have a re-do!

Our youngest is turning 15 this week...while he is at camp. We will definitely be needing to borrow your idea.

A.J. Dub. (Amy) said...

What a nice mom! Your cake is cute! My 12 year old son just got into Minecraft and I am sure he would enjoy this. And Texas sheet cake is yummy so you can't go wrong there.

Barbie Mills said...

I'm glad it worked out in the end. Sometimes stuff happens and the best-laid plans just can't happen. So helpful that he told you he was disappointed, and great that you were able to do something so fun about it. =)

Beth said...

What a great do-over. That cake looks like a masterpiece! Good for you. Looks like it was a big success.