Where did my infant go?

More Cake

I haven't blogged in a long while.  I've been depressed, distracted and disillusioned with life lately.  Still unemployed, still struggling to get on my feet and still wondering how I can possibly be the mother I need to be, the wife I want to be, and do it all while working full time.  I can't even do the stay-at-home thing with any great success so going back to work has me just covered in doubt (Especially since there are no available jobs for an out of work journalist who hates journalism).  So naturally I turn to cake for comfort and escape.  Luckily there have been several loved ones with birthdays over the last few months, so there has been good reason to immerse myself in cake.  Playing with your food is good therapy.

This is the cake I did for my Dad's 68th birthday.  He has loved the game of Washers since he was a child and still competes.  He loved this cake.  The grass is just some coconut and green food coloring, the dirt is ground graham crackers (a little black frosting to line the hole) and white fondant washers sprayed with Wilton silver.  

My Halloween creation.  My four-year-old daughter did the spider.  She felt it needed to be a lady, so she gave it "lady lips." The purple top and the spider are fondant, but the rest is just chocolate icing.

My attempt at doing something freehand.  I didn't notice the whiskers until I took the picture.  Needless to say my attention to detail is still a bit lacking.  The whole thing was pipped with a Wilton #16 star tip, and the #3 tip for the bow, whiskers, eyes, name and outline.

I say this over and over, but making cakes yourself is not as hard as you might think and the recipients appreciate the cakes so much more when it comes from your heart.  And with the price of the ready-made cakes you pick up at the grocery store, economically it just makes sense to do it yourself. I hope you enjoyed this round of cake photos.  With Christmas coming in a few short days I am turning my attention to cookies.  It is a good thing these cakes get given away, or else I would weigh 1000 pounds by now.