Happy Birthday, Luke!

My nephew turned 5 today! He had a great time with all his friends on Saturday and enjoyed they enjoyed a Curious George cake just as he requested. But what to do for his birthday celebration with his family? Well, when your birthday is this close to Halloween, it isn't that difficult to figure out. Besides, this fulfilled all the requirements of being #1) a surprise #2) a yellow cake with red filling #3) a 'mini me' cake that he requested at his sister's birthday.

Sometimes the simplest concept takes a little engineering - and this cake was no exception. I delivered this cake in two different parts and assembled it when I dropped it off this morning. Of course, the birthday boy needed to supervise Auntie after the top tier was put in place.

The birthday boy finally consented to put his hat on when the party guests arrived.

With his best girl who missed eating her dinner 5 years
ago tonight because she was busy doing other things.

Nana was already informed that he plans to be Toothless the Dragon next year for Halloween, but I can't help wondering if there are any Spongebob Squarepants cakes in my future......

Baking Cakes

My nephew has a birthday next week and I am getting the cakes ready so he can celebrate. I've had such a day that it wasn't until these pans were in the oven, I cleaned up behind me and got ready to sit down to watch the World Series that I remembered I needed to take a photo...ooops!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Yesterday I made the tomato soup cake. This morning it was iced.
This afternoon when the pastry chefs arrived it was decorated.

It was a slight surprise that Luke took such and interest in decorating Nana's cake....

but once I figured out he enjoyed eating the flowers it all made sense!

"The cake was a little heavy, but the candles made it light!"

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Happy to help you with a little extra hot air!

All this celebrating can make a guy dog tired.

Tomato Soup Cake and Cream Cheese Icing

Yes, you read that right - and I baked one early this evening for my mother's birthday tomorrow. She has loved it since childhood and as long as anyone in the family can remember its been her birthday cake. When people go "Whaaaaat?" I usually describe it as a depression era spice cake - I wasn't around in the depression and technically my parents were born at the end of the Great Depression, but its what I remember her mother saying one time and it just works for me. It is a good cake, but after today's performance in a Wilton cake pan, I suggest you stick with a 9x12" pan and don't try and get fancy.

Tomato Soup Cake

3/4 C Crisco
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C tomato soup (canned, condensed, classically Campbell's)
3/4 C water
1 tsp. soda
3 C flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 C raisens
1 1/2 C chopped walnuts (not usually in the b-day cake)

Blend Crisco and sugar. Combine tomato soup with water and soda. Add to Crisco mixture alternately with all the sifted dry ingredients. Stir in raisins and nuts. Pour into 9" greased tube pan or 9x12" cake pan. Bake in moderate oven of 350 for 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. (yes, there is no egg in the recipe, it always fakes me out)

Cream Cheese Icing

Blend 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese with 1 egg yolk and 3 C confectioner's sugar. Add 1/8 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Grandpop's Birthday Party

Some of the best parties, if you are a Grandpop, is a fishing party.
After the important guests arrive its time to go get the worms.

Make sure you get the best worms

Tie on the hooks and get them baited.

We practice catch and release of the bluegills and
sunnies here at the Homestead puddle.
Auntie needs more practice taking pictures after the catch
but before the release.

Is that a blue gill or a sunny?

Now that's a fish cake!

The best catch of them all.
Happy Birthday, Grandpop!

Sucker for a coupon

If you are into projects and crafts at all and have a Micheal's store near you, it is likely you are familiar with their weekly coupons that expire on Saturdays. This week, we had a really good one, 20% off the whole purchase, including sale items! However, there was nothing Mom or I could think of that we absolutely needed to run out and buy. Then, as I was taking a mental break from a paper I am currently writing I remembered I needed something for my niece's birthday cake in a few weeks. Mom was easily persuaded to go for a ride, but Jake was even more so. He's always interested in seeing where we are going and I think secretly hopes it will be the bank or the gas station. Most service station attendants (in New Jersey it is against the law to pump your own gas) carry dog treats in their pockets and banks have a jar full of Milkbones next to the lollipop container at the drive-up window. Jake is onto this and knows that if he isn't in the car, he doesn't get one. He also knows that I keep an "emergency stash" in my car to treat him after I return from my errand. When we came out of Micheal's, there was Jake, sitting right in the driver's seat so I wouldn't forget he was a passenger in need of reward.

Just sitting in the back of the car, watching the world roll on by.

Please do not worry - the taking of these photos were done humanly and safely. No animals were harmed or suffered during the ride.