Birthday Cakes

We just finished the round of birthdays for the boys. (Done until December!)   Anyway, here are the cakes they each chose this year.

Bolt

Transformers

Basket balls, soccer balls, baseballs, and volley balls.

Pencil Cake

I made this for the boys before school started back up for the year as a "back to school" treat(I know, I'm super late posting this!!). We had a couple of friends over and made a party out of it. Everyone loved it!! It was a really simple recipe I found in my Food Network magazine. It looks like a lot of directions, but it is really very simple.

Pencil Cake

2 16-ounce frozen pound cakes, thawed

1 16-ounce tub vanilla frosting

6 drops red food coloring

23 drops yellow food coloring

2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips

2 green sour belt candies

Cut a 2-inch piece from one cake for the eraser; set aside. Trim 1/2 inch from the uncut ends of both cakes. Line up the cakes to make 1 long cake.

Using a paring knife, score 2 lines down the length of both cakes, 1 1/4 inches in from each side. With the lines as a guide, trim the cake sides at an angle, as shown.

Mix 1/2 cup vanilla frosting, the red food coloring and 3 drops yellow food coloring in a glass liquid measuring cup. Microwave the frosting about 20 seconds, stirring every 5 seconds.

Make the eraser: Put the 2-inch piece of cake on a rack set over a baking sheet. Pour the warm pink frosting evenly over the cake. Chill until set, about 20 minutes.

Microwave the chocolate chips in a resealable plastic bag (unsealed) in 5-second intervals until melted. Push the chocolate to one corner, twist the bag and secure with tape; freeze until set.

Mix the remaining 1 1/2 cups frosting and 20 drops yellow food coloring. Frost the cake with an offset spatula, following the beveled edges.

Make the tip: Cut one end of the cake into a tip, shaving it with a paring knife so the pencil looks sharpened.

Remove the chocolate cone from the bag and trim the base to make it flat. Attach the chocolate tip to the pencil with frosting; attach the eraser to the other end.

Lay the sour belts across the end of the pencil near the eraser, trimming as needed. Gently press into the frosting to secure.

Halloween Fun!

Here are some of the fun, spooky foods I made for the kids this Halloween. I know its too late for you to use this year, but you can file the ideas/recipes away for next year!

For Breakfast we had "spooky eggs"(just red food coloring. But it takes a lot to actually make it red, so we had pink eggs); "Franken-fingers"(sausage); bacon(i didn't come up with anything spooky for that); "ghost toast"(just use a cookie cutter); "ghost poop"(powdered donut holes. Yeah, i know.); and "spooky milk"(just a different color). So, nothing too fancy, just a fun twist on some breakfast foods. The boys enjoyed it.

Then for lunch we had "mummy dogs". This idea can be found in a couple of places online, so i'm not sure where I originally saw it, but the boys really loved it! Christian keeps asking me to make these.

Mummy Dogs

1 pkg refrigerated breadstick dough(12 count)

12 hot dogs

Pre-heat oven to 375. Unroll breadstick dough and cut each into 3 strips. Wrap each hot dog(like a mummy), starting at the bottom and working your way up. Use 3 strips for each hot dog. Leave a little space at the top for eyes. Place hot dogs on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 min. or until golden brown. Remove adn let cool a few minutes. Use ketchup or mustard for eyes.

This idea I found a while ago on the Picky Palate. It is just a little banana caterpillar. I will make this sometimes, just to make snack a little more fun. Just cut up a banana, and layer it back together with peanut butter. Stick a couple of pretzel pieces in as legs, and some chocolate chips as eyes, and you're done!