Today, on my sonβs Nameday, Iβm reminded that 3 years ago I became a Dad.
Youβd think after 3 years Iβd get used to the title, but no, it still makes me step back and reflect. Makes me not only feel blessed, but it also makes me think, βholy crap, Iβm someoneβs Old Man.β It stings at first because Iβm not short on things that make me feel old, but with his current admiration for Star Wars and Ninja Turtles, I think I can happily give myself a pat on the back for doing a good job so far. He may drive me nuts sometimes, but I couldnβt live without my young Padawan.
Speaking of Star Wars and Ninja Turtles, I wanted to do something with his cake. About 4 days ago I decided this and it kicked my βEh, how hard can this be?β attitude into high gear. Why? Because my first thought was to make an R2-D2 cake. By now I hope you would know me as someone who doesnβt like to do things half ass, so I started thinking of elaborate ways to make a cake of everyoneβs favorite astromech droid. And what better way to research than Pinterest?
Boy, that was a confidence killer.
After realizing there ainβt no way in hell I was going to have the time to put together the type of cake I wanted, I moved on, thinking maybe next year.
βWhat nextβ¦ Ninja Turtles! What kind of Ninja Turtles cake can I makeβ¦?β To Pinterest I go!
The results werenβt too bad. Looking passed complicated ideas, I started to see basic shapes that I could have done. So after narrowing it down, I found one cake that I was going to go for…
I had nothing but a picture from flickr. NoΒ tutorial, no details, nothing. I broke it down from looks alone andΒ I knew from the beginning the fondant was going to be my problem. Looking at the cake itself, it was a simple round cake as the bottom with another round cake on top cut in the shape of the Turtleβs head. Looks like everything was wrapped in fondant as well as the bandanna being made of it. I was going to go with a piece of cardboard wrapped in fondant for the manhole cover. This was my first elaborate cake decorating so screw that βeverything must be edibleβ rule.
Iβve said it before, Iβm no cake decorator. I know if I practiced I could probably rock it, but I donβt have time to practice. My mom tells me all the time to get into it and is even going to send me some course books she has since sheβs a cake decorating instructor for Wilton.
But those little facts donβt stop me from thinking I could make a freaking 3D Ninja Turtle cake with the only experience I have being those cake shows on TV.
So I give myself 3 days. I was going to start on Monday and maybe I wonβt feel rushed. I could put time into it while Seb eats his meals and Iβll be alright.
Nope, Monday didnβt work out. Family came into town so I didnβt even think about starting this monster. Ok, 2 days, I can do this. No experience.. yeah, so? Never made fondant before? Pfft, details, shmetails. I got this.
EH! Wrong again. I choked under the pressure. I let the clock stress me out. I got as far as making a surprisingly good marshmallow fondant for my first time, but when the food coloring wasnβt turning it the color I wanted after a half hour of kneading the crap out of it, I knew I wasnβt going to 1) finish this without confining the kid to his highchair for hours and 2) have enough fondant for what I wanted to do. Psyching myself out gave me no ambition for making more fondant, I just wanted to quit and buy him a cake.
But, I had to do something. I couldnβt quit altogether. So I thought and thought and it hit me. I donβt know why it didnβt hit me before since he was already in his 3rd back-to-back replay of watching the damn movie. Itβs obvious he likes it, so why not make it his cake?
So WALL-E it was. An simple idea and design instantly came to mind where I would use leftover brownies from when my family visited and next thing I knew I was already making the cake.
I decided to go with Smitten Kitchenβs Best Birthday Cake because I wanted something other than a chocolate cake which I always seem to make for everything. I did keep chocolate buttercream though, which I got from Savory Sweet Life. It was the first time I made SKβs cake, which I resourcefully adapted since I had no cake flour or buttermilk. The result was pretty good and almost exactly what I was expecting. And I must say, Iβve made SSLβs chocolate buttercream more than once. Good stuff there.
I said I resourcefully adapted the cake flour and buttermilk. If you didnβt know:
Thanks to Joy the Baker, I found out to make cake flour out of all-purpose flour, all you had to do was add 2 tablespoons of corn starch to every 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Sift together and incorporate well. If you are putting it straight into the recipe, remove 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour from the cup before you add the 2 tablespoons of corn starch. That way, things arenβt thrown off. Donβt blame me, blame science. If youβre making cake flour to just make cake flour, donβt worry about that. Just worry about the issues you obviously have since youβre making cake flour just for fun.
If you donβt have buttermilk, take a cup of milk, preferably room temperature, and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to it. Vinegar works too, but I prefer lemon juice. Let it stand for about 5 minutes and youβll have yourself some ghetto buttermilk. If the milk is cold it takes longer for the process to work. In case youβve already made yourself a supply of cake flour and want to dip your hands into another hobby.
Cake was done, buttercream creamed, I saw my vision and I went for it. A few cuts here and some brownie shaping there and boom! I had one trashy looking cake!
I was going for trashy so it was good. The cake is supposed to be one of his trash mountains that he put up, which explains the squares in the buttercream and the ramp leading to the top. The cocoa powder spilled everywhere was the dirt, random trash and debris was chopped chocolate and random cake/brownie crumbs, and the cubes of trash were also cake and brownies shaped so.
The only reason why I went for a WALL-E cake was because a few months ago I ordered that WALL-E toy from ebay for the purpose of being his birthday gift. I love helping him build his little toy collection, and I knew this would instantly be one of his favorites. I thought it would be awesome to see WALL-E sitting on top of a cake as if he helped put it together. And Sebβs look when he saw the cake was great. I know it was only because he wanted that toy and he couldnβt care less about the cake itself, but still it was great. My wife would’ve came home with a supermarket cake if I didn’t have that WALL-E toy.
The toy itself, I must say, is exactly what you would think a discontinued toy shipped from China would be. It came new in a box but the tape that held the box shut led me to believe something was fishy. Then the wheels not turning and the loose parts coupled with Seb breaking poor WALL-Eβs arm off after 5 minutes of use all added up to a simple conclusion: If it is discontinued, costs $10, and ships from China, donβt have high hopes for it.
Still a great toy though. And even though his arm that I put back will never be the same, I know Seb loves it and that’s what counts.
Happy Birthday, son.
I give you a lot of credit for even attempting this. When it comes to birthday cakes, I prefer to buy them then make them. My decorating skills are sub par at best.
Thanks! And trust me, my decorating skills are sub par too. It’s the first time I go crazy with a cake like this. I look forward to giving it more practice.
I really, REALLY loved this story! You’ve inspired me and for that I thank you. Also, thanks Jen for pointing me here π
<3
Thanks for loving the story! And I’m humbled that I can spark inspiration. Thanks for finally stopping by.
If you do decide to go for the turtle cake another time, consider either marchpane or shortbread for the manhole cover.
Thanks for the suggestions. I really really want to give that Turtle cake a try in the future. And with more planning I’m definitely going to aim for making the entire thing edible.
Thanks for checking it out!
The best part about using marchpane or shortbread for the manhole cover is that you can make it well in advance; one less thing to fret over on the day of.
I’m also wondering now β did you see where the caption said those were mini cakes? β whether it would be worth trying to make all four turtles… (Yeah, that cake captured my imagination too, but my kid’s all grown up now!)
I’m all for doing things in advance!
And yes, I noticed the mini cake caption, but it looks like it can be a decent sized cake. Now that you mention it though, I wonder how “mini” it actually was…
So what! Make it anyway, grown up kid or not!
My Birthday is June 22. IJS.
haha, noted. B.Y.O.WALL-E though.
I’m actually angling for the TMNT cake, but honestly, I ain’t picky. I’ll B.Y.O.Wall-E like a bawse!
Pingback: The 4th Birthday Cake – Lego Heist - The Man, The Chef, The Dad