Here is a collection of cakes that we've made in our family. And when I say "we" I means, the kids! Every cake here was made by one of our kids (with a bit of supervision) except for the pizza cake. I made that for Dallin's birthday one year, but it would be SO easy for a child to make. Most of the other cakes were made for Dallin's Blue & Gold Cub Scout Banquets over the years.
Hamburger Cake
This cake is just classic. To make it simple we used 3 round cakes. 2 yellow and 1 devil's food. There is no need to frost them since they already look like a bun and burger pattie!
We started with the bottom bun and added some frosting in the center to hold the cake together. Then using a leaf tip, Dallin added lettuce. Just squirt and pull, squirt and pull....that is what I told him to do.
Then he stacked the chocolate cake on top of that and added more white frosting. Using a round tip, he piped ketchup on the edges. We used colored marshmallow fondant to make the pickles and cheese. Dallin only likes pickles, lettuce and cheese (if it is really melted) on his burgers so he did not want to make onions or tomatoes for his burger.
The pickles were cut out of a round cookie cutter and he used a toothpick to make the seed indentations. The cheese was rolled out thin, and then cut into a square shape using a pizza cutter. Then we cut the square in half on the diagonal to create two pieces. All of the fixings were draped over the edges before adding the top bun.
Then he piped on sesame seeds with a small round tip and white frosting.
He was pretty darn proud of his cake!
Macaroni & Cheese Cake
This little cake turned out awesome! We had absolutely nothing to go by, as I had never seen a macaroni and cheese cake before, but it is Aaron's favorite food so we attempted it and I think it was a success!
Using orange fondant, we rolled out ropes and then he cut the ropes into little sections with a butter knife and curved them to create the macaroni.
We baked 1 cake mix in the pampered chef batter bowl @ 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes to create the bowl. Then I scooped out the top 2" to make an area for the macaroni to fit inside.
He covered it with a light coat of buttercream frosting and then added the fondant.
Yep, HE did the fondant! I rolled it out for him and he draped it and pressed it around the edges. It didn't need to be perfect, but I think it turned out perfect. He just pressed and folded, then we cut off the excess around the bottom. The bowl was finished.
Another cute cake!
Easter Egg Cake
Using some of the extra batter from the hamburger cake, I made an oval cake for Kaylee to decorate.
She frosted it with a little help, then added sprinkles, chocolate bunnies, eggs, and colored her own coconut for grass.
She was so happy to be included!
Mini Rainbow Cake
Aaron made this darling cake for his preschool teacher last year. We baked up 2 small round pans, stacked and frosted them, and then used skittles to create the rainbow with marshmallow clouds.
He later found out that his teacher's favorite candy was indeed, Skittles, and was pretty excited about that.
This sweet simple cake was one of my all time favorites.
Here is another favorite. I made this for Dallin's birthday, but it is so simple that kids would have a blast creating their own pizza cookie/cake and figuring out creative ways to make the toppings!
I made a 14" sugar cookie by pressing the dough
onto the pan and poking holes in it with a fork to prevent bubbling. It took an
entire batch of
cookie dough. I then baked it at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. It had
just started to look golden on the edges and looked like it was set. Soft in the
center, set up on the edges.
I spread red frosting across the cooled cookie
for the sauce and used white frosting for the cheese. Again, I didn't have my
supplies like frosting bags, so I used ziploc baggies and filled 2 of them with
white icing. Then I trimmed off one corner from each baggie. 1 corner was a VERY
tiny hole and the other was a little bigger. That way it would look like
shredded cheese in different stages of being melted. I drizzled and dropped the
icing all over the place randomly.
The pepperoni? Fruit roll ups! It took 5 of them
(strawberry flavored) to cut out enough circles. Some of them didn't turn out
and stuck to the wax paper too much so it's a good idea to make extra circles of
roll ups just in case.
In The Wild Cake
Dallin needed to make a "survival" themed cake for another Blue and Gold Banquet. He was thrilled with how his cake turned out. There were certain aspects that I wanted to "help" with, but I let him take full control over how it was going to go and I think it turned out great.
The theme he came up with was "2 campers in the woods, roasting marshmallows, while some bears are having a party"
And so we went with it...
Sour patch kids for the "people", toothpick with a piece of marshmallow for "roasting marshmallows" gummy bears for the "bears" and blue icing gel for the lake with mini goldfish crackers.
He used white frosting and spread it into a lake shape and then covered it in the blue gel since the blue gel didn't show up well against the chocolate frosting.
The trees are bugles (the chips) covered in frosting. The rocks are CHOCOLATE rocks. My kids think these are just about the best invention ever. We bought them in bulk at Winco.
It was a great cake and a great night at Cub Scouts. He earned his Bear! Way to go Dallin!
Kaylee made this cake for a tea party she hosted for a bunch of her little friends. It was incredible easy to make. 1 small round cake and 10 cupcakes. She frosted the round cake in yellow and added sprinkles and I helped her pipe on frosting for the cupcakes. It was a darling little flower and the girls loved it!
My kids made this darling teddy bear cake for my birthday. A round cake for the head, an oval one for the body, and 6 cupcakes for ears and paws. German chocolate cake with coconut frosting. Then they went crazy with the m&ms and candies for details. Not to mention an overload of candles for the 30-something birthday girl.
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It is so fun to see how proud the kids get when the create and use their skills. I just have to remember that it doesn't matter if it is done exactly how I would have made it. It is their creation, their vision, and I need to just step back and offer suggestions here and there, and snap pictures :)
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(I use all shortening and add butter flavoring. Shortening handles temperatures better than butter, but butter tasted better).
For my cakes, I always use boxed ones. No special brand.
