I found an adorable pirate cake on Family Fun Magazine's website, and took a stab at it. The recipe calls for 2 9-in rounds, cut in half and all four pieces "glued" together with icing. I first used Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate cake mix. For some reason they fell apart right out of the pan. Then I went back to the store and bought what I thought was the same thing (because I thought one of them might work and wanted them to match). But I got home and realized I had instead purchased Chocolate Fudge flavor. For some other odd reason, these two worked just fine and stayed together nicely! So I froze them overnight so they'd be easier to cut in the morning.
I got up very early on Saturday and put all the pieces together, iced them, and decorated them. It actually turned out pretty darn cute. Which is quite an amazing feat for me because my performance around the kitchen has never gotten me mistaken for Sandra Lee...
...which was soon evidenced by the time the party started. My joyous jubilation at my birthday cake triumph was short-lived. Evidently, this cake was not meant to be transported (though I missed the fine print about that in the recipe). As soon as we got in the car, not 3 minutes down the road, my mother-in-law, who is holding the cake in her lap, yells, "Oh my gosh!"
In complete denial, I ignored the declaration and chose to assume she was referring to the conversation we were having. But when no more said in reference, I finally had to come to grips with reality and look to my right. Slowly and sheepishly, I turned my head, wanting to transcend space and time, and instead of seeing a crumbling cake in her lap, envision that I had built not a pirate ship, but a Taj Mahal of birthday cakes. But alas, I was driving so drifting off to Neverland wasn't really an option. And there it was. My creation was taking on cannon fire.
And it only got worse. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, not only had we taken on cannon fire, but we had run aground and been set ablaze. And trying to piece it back together only made it worse! Yikes.
Epic fail. However, as disappointing as it was, it wasn't a complete disaster. The kids actually thought it was fun to dig for the "buried treasure." Yeah. That's what I meant to do! It was like a treasure hunt. You're welcome, kids!
Eh, well. Four-year-olds are easy to please. As you can see, I still had one happy Pirate on deck!
GOL! (Gasp out loud) I was not expecting to see the cake split in half like that. My 4th birthday is probably my earliest memory. I remember I had a sailboat cake in Shadyside. I wonder if Jack will remember this? Looks like a fun day...
ReplyDeleteI made the same cake For M last year!!
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