Birthdays in our Home

Birthdays are one of the hardest times for dealing with PA. In my opinion, bakery cakes are never safe. There are nuts all over the place and the fact that a tiny speck could creep into a cake makes me way too uncomfortable!

So, what happens when you need a Birthday cake for your PA child?

That was a question I dealt with last year. On Tyler's 3rd Birthday I decorated his cake with fruit snacks! I knew this would not work when he got older. After all, he wanted "fun" cakes like everyone else had.

Last fall I decided to take a cake decorating class. I am the least artistic person on the planet! So there certainly was a bit of irony in my decision. But, I was determined to learn what I could to help my kids have cakes that rival their non-PA friends. (Even though my younger child is not PA, I want Tyler to be able to eat his cakes.)

To my shock, I found something I enjoyed and was rather decent at! (You can read posts about this from last year here and here.)

The deal in my house is the boys can pick any cartoon character they want and I will attempt to make a cake of it. So far, I haven't failed.

The fun part about it is the boys talk all year about what kind of cake they want for their birthday. Its something they look forward to. Even though Tyler's birthday is in January, yet he picked what birthday cake he wanted last spring. He has stuck with his request so I have a feeling that is what I will be doing! (Here is the character he chose.)

To tell you the truth, I'm a little nervous about this one! Last year, however, Dylan requested Thomas the Tank Engine and here is what I did. For Tyler's cake this year I'm going to make the same cake pattern but change the colors and add the claw at the top.

Cake decorating classes are offered at most cakes shops. If you are interested in learning, call one in your area. If they don't offer one, they should be able to tell you where you can find one.

A word of caution: I enjoy being in the kitchen and really challenging myself. I spend about 5 or 6 hours on each cake but I attempt pretty elaborate ones. By the end of it, I question my sanity, of course! But, if you hate baking and standing in the kitchen, you might be better asking friends if they know how to decorate cakes and see if they will bake one for your PA kid.

Last week was Dylan's 3rd Birthday. Tomorrow I will share pictures of our cake and the online instructions that I used.

Photo credit: irresistibledesserts