Birthdays and Receptions Archives

Experiment in Cupcakes – Box Cake from Scratch and Boiled Frosting

Recipes in this Post

I had a dream, yes I had a dream. I dreamed of cupcakes with blue buttercream frosting.

I’m not much of a cupcake person, but they are nice if you’ve got a lot of kids. They are easy because you don’t really need a plate, and you don’t need a knife, and you don’t have to worry about someone saying their piece of cake is too small or too big. All the cupcakes are the same size.

Usually, I make a butter cake, similar to a 1234 cake, but it makes a three-layer cake, and that was just too much for cupcakes. I know that a regular box of cake mix makes enough for cupcakes, but I don’t like things that come in a box. So I made my own box cake with fresh ingredients.

Pirate Party Appetizers

Pictures and recipes for appetizers for Spane’s 8th Pirate themed birthday party. Fruit boats, cucumber boats, a cheese ball skull, cannon balls (rum balls), and a Jolly Roger cake to complete the theme.

Jolly Roger Cake of the Pirate Rack Rachham with Cannon Balls

Jolly Roger Pirate Chocolate Cake — Jolly Roger of Rack Rachham

I just love marzipan. It is so forgiving, easy to work with, and delicious. As a child living in Germany, I remember every year at Christmas time, the bakeries would put out a nativity scene made from marzipan, with the structures made from gingerbread. These were true artisans. So, when I decided to make a Jolly Roger cake, I wanted to do something in that tradition.

Originally, I was going to make large cannon (rum) balls for Spane’s pirate-themed party, but I soon realized that I could not put a candle on them the same way I could a cake. I still made the rum balls, and they turned out wonderful as well.

Making the cake was easy. I used my standard chocolate cake recipe, using Hershey’s Dark Cocoa, with the addition of a little Chipotle powder and Saigon cinnamon. Black food coloring made for intensely dark chocolate.

Cucumber Boats

Cucumber boats floating on their blue ocean plate with fully open egg-white sails, rigging of toothpicks with whimsical olives making the mast, and filled with egg salad. Ahoy!

Pirate Party – It’s a Pirate Party! This is a fun menu to make for your own pirate party, whether for kids, or adults who are celebrating International Talk like a Pirate Day. Of course, you can use these recipes at any time of the year.

Day of the Dead Brownies

These Day of the Dead brownies have an extra kick from Chipotle and Cinnamon that takes them out of the realm of the ordinary brownie.

Marzipan People Cake Toppers

Marzipan People cake toppers are easy to make. Learn how to make Tinker Bell and other pixies with marzipan and taffy.

Making Candy Pixie Wings

How to make candy Pixie wings for an edible Tinkerbell, or Fairy for a cake topper or Christmas tree decorations.

The flip flops, Bow, matching barrettes, and bracelets

A Girly Birthday

Spane and Noelle are very good friends, and play together a lot. Her mother, Amber, and I sat down a few weeks ago and started making plans for the party. Amber is going to make a waterfall scene cake, and I told her I would make some pixies for it. I ~~will be posting that when I make them~~ made the Pixie wings, as the party is not for another 10 2 days, and now, I have made the pixies out of marzipan. But, we went to Michaels and got some great gifts to make for Noelle. You can view the album of pictures we took to see the completed projects.

Great Northern White Chicken Chili

On my birthday, I wanted something special. Since it was cold, I wanted chili, but not any chili. I wanted a bowl of white – Great Northern White Chili, that is.

Birthdays and Receptions