Creating fairytale characters and ice-creams from cake
- By Louise Bond
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- 26 Aug, 2018
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With the heightened awareness of baking on TV and the internet there has never been so much pressure on parents to create the perfect birthday cake!
I do enjoy a bit of baking myself but apart from the occasional batch of biscuits or school holiday cake making fun I don’t get a chance to do much of it these days. But when it comes to birthday cakes then I always make the extra special effect to make them from scratch. Ever since the children were tiny I’ve made their birthday cakes, I quite enjoy it really although the children’s requests have changed over the years from Disney Cars and cute animals to more elaborate Minecraft and characters from fairytale books . Gone are the days when I can cover the whole cake in chocolate buttons or chocolate fingers. I’m not that great at icing and more than happy to admit it.
Now a few years ago my daughter was having her birthday party at an ice-cream parlour with all her friends from school. As usual I asked her what kind of cake she would like to which she replied ‘I’d like an ice-cream cake please’. Hmmm this was going to be interesting. After looking through all my trusty recipe books I searched for pictures on the internet only to find that anti-gravity ice-cream cakes were the current trend. I decided to improvise and create my own idea of an ice-cream cake. That would surely be much easier?
I decided upon rainbow colours, sprinkles, giant lollipops, ice-cream wafers and ice-cream cones. It was going to be a rainbow ice-cream themed cake; I mean how hard could it be?! I’d watched Rosanna Pansino, aka Nerdy Nummies, make one on YouTube and she make it look so easy!
A few days before the party I set to work. Two nights of baking later I had six different coloured cake layers. Now I was on to the fun bit, the construction. Actually the stacking of the layers did turn out to be quite easy but covering it in buttercream proved to be more difficult. The layers kept slipping and the buttercream was full of multi-coloured cake crumbs. I decided that this should be the ‘crumb coat’ as Rosanna Pansino called it as it was mainly that anyway. The next layer of buttercream was much more successful but now I was on to the sprinkles. How would I get the sprinkles all over the cake? All advice online was to roll the cake in the sprinkles but I had six layers so there was no way my cake was going to roll without falling apart completely. So I opted for the next best option and that was to throw handfuls of sprinkles at the cake. Literally. Well it actually worked and I had a layered rainbow cake covered in sprinkles as was the table, floor, me and generally the whole kitchen!
The result though was worth all the effort as on party day we had one very happy birthday girl when the cake was revealed and it tasted pretty good too, so success!
Will I be applying for The Great British Bake Off anytime soon though? Not a chance, but I will continue to write fun children’s books!
Each bubble a gleaming, iridescent sphere of possibility
destined to travel through the world of imagination for every child and adult
that chooses to wonder – a fantastic story book in the making.
Bubbles capture the imagination of people of all ages, they always have. So
simple and yet so complex, so relaxing and tranquil in the way they move. Silent
as they float away, higher and higher a bubbles travels can really transport
you away with your imagination drifting. As they float across the sky taking
you with them on their journeys to far away countries – maybe even different worlds.
From the youngest of age’s children and adults cannot help but watch them as they swirl, twirl and dance around in the air while we wonder if and when they are going to pop! Gleaming and shimmering in the sunlight as they float higher and higher a bubbles beauty and iridescence is unrivalled. Every bubble has a story or a tale to tell.
With all of these amazing attributes bubbles really do lend themselves to being the lead character in a fun rhyming children’s book like Barnaby Bubble – maybe next time you should ask yourself is that Barnaby? Be careful Barnaby! I know my family does!
Bedtime stories help to develop the magic of imagination in young minds, taking your children away from the troubles of early life. From the moment they are born children relax hearing familiar voices. Relaxed tones and nursery rhymes are the best way to soothe babies into a comfortable sleep. As they develop continuing this routine is an important part of strengthening that bond between parent and child while at the same time easing them into speech and even early reading.
We must not forget how younger minds perceive the world and
how something meaningless to us adults can play on the mind of children causing
stress and anxiety. The comfort and fun of a good rhyming children’s book or
bedtime story can be just what a child needs to put these worries to one side
while they drift off into an imagination filled sleep!
A good children’s book can take them to a safe place where they create
characters in their own imagination while learning the early foundations of
reading and language. The power and importance of a great rhyming book with
bright, colourful illustrations cannot be overrated.
There is nothing quite as magical for parents or children as a good bedtime story. The bond that it creates within a family and the stimulation of young minds is so important and the memories can never be forgotten. All that is takes is a great children’s book and a reassuring voice to deliver the humour of rhyme, taking their worries away and strengthening their developing minds!
