Sunday, July 29, 2007

Crumb Coat

Later today we're having a small family barbeque in my parents' backyard for Ann's birthday. I'm glad that despite having attended a few more party-ish parties, this is what Ann has been most excited about related to her birthday every year. I do realize that as she grows up, she may change her mind . . .

With a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms for this afternoon, we may have to bring everything indoors in a hurry at some point. I hear some thunder rolling, so chances are, we'll be indoors! We've got the paper goods, we've got the meat, and I even had a few of those infamous party favors left over from Ann's camp party (how many parties are we having here?!) to give out to the cousins who'll be there.

The only thing left to do is to finish decorating Ann's cake. For now, I put on the crumb coat, which is a thin layer of frosting that apparently should help the chocolate cake crumbs not show through as much in the final layer. I'm not a cake professional by any stretch of the imagination, but I think we'll wind up putting together something cute. I got the idea for a CandyLand-board type cake from a parenting magazine, and decided to try and adapt it for this party.



Although there'll be an excessive amount of sugary, nauseating candy (on top of a frosted cake!), I don't imagine too much of the candy will actually be eaten. Ann tends to lick a couple of pieces and then sort of hide them in a napkin. On the other hand, Andy may just have a field day with this cake! I'd better tell my brother and sister-in-law to bring along some toothbrushes for their kids!



The semi-finished product (minus the writing in the top-left corner and some lollipops in the middle of the left edge that will make it too tall to transport):

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks FANTASTIC! Happy, happy birthday, Anne!

Baleboosteh said...

Happy Birthday Raggedy Anne!!

That cake looks fantastic, I would have loved a cake like that when I was younger! :D

Orthonomics said...

Happy B-day and great cake. I don't think I could ever bring myself to post on of my creations. I need lessons!

orieyenta said...

The cake is super-cute! What a great idea. (You always make me wish I could bake better!) I bet the kids loved it. Happy Birthday to Ann!

LittleBirdies said...

Great cake idea! I'm sure she loved it.

Anonymous said...

Great cake! You are super creative. I love reading your blog-you write well and have so much common sense!

RaggedyMom said...

Thanks, everyone! Ann had a great time, and the cake was a real highlight!

I forgot to mention that if RaggedyDad hadn't stepped in to help with his logical-analytical way of approaching things, I'd still be decorating that cake!

Anonymous, any time you want me to make you a CandyLand cake for your birthday, just say the word :)

Scraps said...

Happy birthday, Anne! Wow, that's quite the impressive cake! It must have taken a lot of work, but it was probably fun to make. :)

Ezzie said...

Wow. That's REALLY cool. :)

mother in israel said...

Here's a tip--use jelly for the "crumb coat" instead of frosting. That's from my SIL, who is definitely a professional decorater, even if she doesn't currently makea living from it.

mother in israel said...

I forgot to say--great cake!!

Chana said...

That is a work of art. What a cake! Candyland, huzzah!

the apple said...

I love this cake! It's so accurate.

Mmm, sugar . . .

and happy belated birthday to Ann!