Maren's First Birthday

When my granddaughter Maren turned one in December 2007, we had to put all of the Christmas decorations away right after the holiday to get ready for another kind of celebration!

Here's the table, before four kids and six adults descended upon it:
The cake (a vanilla pound cake with vanilla buttercream frosting), decorated with The Backyardigans characters, M&M candies and party blowers:
The birthday girl and the baker get ready to dive in:
M-m-m-m-m! Delicious! She has a serious sweet tooth just like the rest of the family.

Isaac's Fourth Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

My four year-old grandson Isaac is obsessed with all things Pokemon and Pikachu, so it was no surprise that he chose Pikachu for the theme for his October 2008 birthday party.

We got inspired by Pikachu for the cake, covering a chocolate pound cake with white chocolate frosting and filling between the layers and decorating it with yummy chocolate buttercream Pikachu stripes.
We recreated Pikachu's face on cupcakes, using white chocolate buttercream and candy for the eyes, cheeks and ears: Here's the boy and his cakes (and his muse):

Kanani's Second Birthday Cake

What did my granddaughter Kanani get for her second birthday in March 2007? A baby brother! She also got this Best Birthday Confetti Cake (yellow cake frosted with vanilla buttercream and decorated with pastel non-parielles):

Bryce's Sixth Birthday Cake

We hosted a backyard carnival when my grandson Bryce turned six in May 2006. I made his favorite cake, banana with chocolate buttercream frosting, and covered it with fondant circles.

Chloe's Fifth Birthday Trifle

My granddaughter Chloe turned five in October 2006, and she was lucky enough to get a to-die-for Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle instead of a birthday cake. This trifle is a huge hit with grown men and five-year-olds everywhere:

Isaac's First Birthday Cake

My grandson Isaac turned one in October 2005 and I baked him my favorite - a Chocolate Velvet Cake slathered with Rich Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. He dug right in!And he asked for more! A boy after my own heart!

(Gr)Annie's Birthday Cake

This is a Caramel Apple Spice Cake that I made for my best friend, Annie, in October 2005:

Chloe's Fourth Birthday

When my granddaughter Chloe turned four in October 2005, I made her a Princess Dream Cake, decorated with a tiara, princess "glass" slippers, silver dragees, and lots of pink and purple! She looks like she's in heaven, doesn't she?

Jilly's 24th Birthday Cake

Another birthday, another strawberry cake. Some years ago during Jilly's teenage years I promised her I would always make her favorite Strawberry Cake for her birthday. In June 2006 when Jilly turned 24, I created an especially festive version to celebrate the occasion.
Friends Rachel and Jenny join us for a celebration dinner.Strawberry Cake centerpiece.

Shirley's 75th Birthday

My mother Shirley turned 75 in June 2006, and we celebrated by going out for dinner and taking the dessert to the restaurant with us! We almost had to "fight" the waitstaff, who wanted to keep it for themselves! And who could resist this delicious Hummingbird Cake (banana-pineapple-pecan cake with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut)?

Kanani's First Birthday Cake

I made this Chocolate Cake (obviously a family favorite), covered with Peek-a-Blocks, for my granddaughter Kanani's first birthday in March 2007:My son Ethan's whole family, plus a stray (Annie) who wanted to help blow:
Kanani seemed more interested in the baby doll than the cake:

The Red Hat Cake

When my friend Kaaren turned fifty, she was inaugurated into the Red Hat Society with a luncheon in her honor. Here are some pictures of the cake (also a red hat) and the table decorations:

The Little Old Lady Cake

When my friend Sandy turned fifty, some friends and I held a luncheon in her honor. I brought this Little Old Lady birthday cake. I'd made similar cakes (with a princess doll) for several of my granddaughters, but with the "creative" substitution of a granny doll and the addition of homemade almond bark and star-tipped icing to the skirt, we had a perfectly sweet "over the hill" cake for Sandy's birthday.

Isaac's Third Birthday Cake

I'll never be the kind of baker who uses different colors of frosting and star tip to make a cake actually look like Diego, but here's a Diego Cake that my three-year-old Diego-loving grandson (whose favorite color is green) went crazy for. It was two 9" layers of Almond Pound Cake, both filled and frosted with Isaac's favorite swampy green Almond Buttercream.

Annie's Fourth Birthday Cake

We called this cake the "pink lemonade" cake. Although it looks like a standard white cake with pink frosting, it's actually a lemon white chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. We normally fill the three 9" layers with lemon curd, but in deference to the ten four-year-olds who consumed it, we decided to fill this one with more of the white chocolate cream cheese frosting. It was well-loved by the partygoers and their parents alike.

Annie's Fifth Birthday Cake

Chocoholism runs in our family. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that my granddaughter Annie requested this cake for her fifth birthday. It's made of two nine inch layers of chocolate pound cake, filled with peppermint buttercream, frosted on the outside with whipped chocolate ganache, and covered with peppermint bark "icebergs" as Annie called them. It didn't photograph particularly well, but it was both a beautiful and a delicious cake and Annie was very happy.