Birthday Cakes

My friend, Amy, once got suckered into buying a Hello Kitty Cake for her niece's birthday to the tune of... well let's just say that for some of us it is our weekly grocery budget. I decided long ago that I would be the birthday cake maker at our house and the sky is the limit.

Originally, I took a Wilton Cake decorating course just to get down the basics. Being that I get to create seven unique cakes a year, I've found myself falling away from some of the more traditional cake making techniques. It's fun to look at magazines for ideas (I especially like Family Fun) or to just ask one of the kids for an idea or theme of what they would like and doing my best from there. Sometimes the cakes are shaped and other times they are decorated with toys. They are not Martha Stewart perfect by any means, but made with lots of love.

This year, since we have a beach time birthday, Elizabeth had her very own sand castle cake complete with shells and a school of fish.

We've had these cakes: horses, princess, Angelina Ballerina, Jay Jay The Jet Plane, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bitty Baby, Elmo, PBS kids, Nemo..... someday I'll have to dig up the pictures.

And then there is Miriam who just wants a cherry pie with a "M" on top every year. Cake isn't for everyone:)

What fun and creative cakes have you made? I'm always looking for inspiration.