It’s almost 3am and here I am drinking a tall glass of milk and eating speculoos cookies. I can't help myself. A slice of pizza for dinner just wasn't cutting it. I've been running around all day getting ready for Lil' C's birthday party tomorrow. Every day this week I've been preparing. Lil' C even helped me put all his goodie bags together. He's super excited about his party!
Earlier this week I baked five 8" & one 10" round pound cakes and the best part is... the cakes didn't burn nor did they crumble like in previous years! I was off to a good start! lol! And yesterday I baked 2 dozen chocolate cupcakes with a ganache topping and rainbow nonpareils sprinkled on top for Lil 'C to share with his classmates today. The cupcakes came really cute and again my oven cooperated. I was shocked! I found this fabulous recipe on Epicurious. What drew my attention was the title... Easiest Chocolate Cake. And it really was! It's the type of recipe that you can easily whip up. Love those types of recipes. The ganache frosting was a bit of a risk considering I made it primarily with dark chocolate but we're in Belgium these kids are used to dark chocolate. lol! When I picked up Lil'C from school today he commented on how everyone loved the cupcakes so much they ate them all. But then C's best friend Lil' J (Counting Grrrl's daughter) told me that the cupcakes dropped on the floor. For a second I wasn't sure I heard her correctly. Did she really say the cupcakes fell on the floor? Lil' C explained how he thought the cupcake container was closed and when he picked it up he dropped the cupcakes.
I asked, "How many fell on the floor?"
Lil'C... "All of them"
Me..."All of them?"
But Lil'C was quick to add that even though the cupcakes fell on the carpet everyone still ate them since "only a few of the cupcakes got smushed". I guess the kids really did love my cupcakes if they were willing to eat them after they fell on the floor! I think C has some die hard chocolate fans in his class. lol! ;)
Now Lil' C's cake was anything but easy. I was quite ambitious with his birthday cake this year. I was planning to make a cake similar to C's invites.. an upside down top hat with a bunny coming out of it. Yes, I realize I'm not a professional baker but watching the Cake Boss makes you think you really can do these elaborate cakes. So I'm blaming the Cake Boss' ; it's all his fault. I mean you would think after burning countless of cakes and with my oven constantly lying to me you'd think I'd give up. But no the Cake Boss got me thinking... "Maybe this time it'll work." And because I'm completely obsessed with the show and everything looks super easy I thought no problem I'll make the cake. HA!! Now the Cake Boss always uses fondant so I ordered 5 gallons of black and 2 gallons of white for C's birthday cake. Don't even ask me how much the final cost of this cake is coming out to be after all the materials & supplies I've purchased! I think I would have been better off asking the Cake Boss himself to bake it and mail it to me. lol! Anyway... up until yesterday I wasn't even sure there was going to be a fondant cake since the package had not arrived. So I had a Plan B... make a chocolate buttercream with ganache on top for a silky, smooth look. Luckily, the fondant arrived today! If it weren't for S I think I would still be working on the cake right now. He was an absolute life saver and prepared all the fondant for me. The top hat was pretty easy to make but for some reason the fondant is starting to sag in certain areas. God, I hope it doesn't fall apart through the night.
Now the bunny on top of the cake wasn't as easy to cover as the top hat. Since the bunny was made out of rice krispie treats my girlfriend, the Pastry Chef, told me it would be best to use fondant first and then decorate. Well, this was all fine and dandy but S & I could not get the fondant on correctly. Not having enough fondant for a second go meant move on to plan C... frost it and sprinkle with coconut flakes. But even this wasn't working. My buttercream seem to have lost it's staying power so around 11pm I made another batch and this time it worked. Hopefully, it'll harden a bit in the refrigerator. My original plan for the wording was to color the fondant red & make stencils for the name & title. But I was a bit worried it wasn't going to work so I piped it on instead. Tomorrow it'll all come together. Nicely, I hope.
I still have lots to do tomorrow plus I'd like to get some sleep tonight! lol! But I didn't want this day to slip by without trying to capture the moment. Can't forget the little stuff... it's what makes events so special. So here are some details of Lil' C's party I'm sure we'll enjoy reading several years from now.
C's Music Playlist he helped create:
I've Got a Feeling :: Black Eyed Peas
Celebration :: Madonna
Just Dance :: Lady Ga Ga & Colby O' Donis
I Want You Back (Kenny Hayes Sunshine Funk Remix :: Jackson 5
When Love Takes Over :: David Guetta
Give It 2 Me :: Madonna
Pretty Please :: Estelle
Don't Turn Off the Lights :: Enrique Iglesias
Since You've Been Gone :: Kelly Clarkson
Do Your Thing :: Basement Jaxx
American Boy :: Estelle
What's on the Menu?
Kids :: Apples :: Cheese :: Pretzels :: Tortilla Chips :: Fruit Skewers :: Rice Krispie Treats :: Fresh Lemonade
Adults :: Crab Dip :: Curry Coconut Chicken Turnovers :: Olives :: Teriyaki Chicken Skewers :: Mulled Wine :: Pimms #3 with Ginger Ale (only if I can find ginger ale tomorrow morning; our grocery store was completely sold out)
Activities & Games
Decorate Magic Cups :: Create Fairy doors :: Magic Show :: Dancing Statues :: Unwrap the Gift
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