So... I did this crazy thing again where I baked a birthday cake for someone.
This time, for a sweet six-year-old who likes blue dresses and loves anything strawberry. But then again kids say they like a lot of things, so you never know. But this strawberry obsession seemed legit.
Still, you don't want to take a chance on a birthday, of all days. I shuddered at the thought that a kid might be upset over vanilla vs. chocolate, pink vs. chartreuse green, Ariel vs. Belle, and so on. Given that I didn't know too much about Olivia, I called her mom to ask a few questions.
Actually, a string of the most probing confectionary inquiries no mom of a birthday kid should ever live through.
May I use fresh strawberries? (How soon will the cake be eaten? Where will it be stored?) One-tier or two-tiered? Is it just the two of you who will be eating it? Any buttercream or icing preference? May I place a tiara on top? (I really, really want to.) How about the design- any particular theme or color arrangement?
By the time I got to asking about fondant the mother stopped me short and told me to do whatever I want.
Which is the BEST thing an obsessed, totally dedicated baker can ever hope to hear.
The base cake is just plain sponge cake, with sliced strawberries in the middle and filled with cream cheese buttercream frosting.
The fondant is homemade, but you can absolutely buy premade fondant. I kneaded basic white fondant with food coloring, then used cookies cutters for the letters and shapes. Make sure you work quickly with fondant, especially the shapes, since they tend to dry faster than you think and you don't want to end up with cracks, like me.
This is the card Olivia wrote me, thanking me for the cake. She apparently wanted to know who my mom was...even though she was sitting right there with us at the tea shop. I don't even try to get inside kids' brains.
Another cake project, another huge learning leap. And a super happy kid.
All in a day's work.
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