Memories of Meals Past: Let Them Eat (Baby Shower Themed) Cake!

I’m at that age where the invitations one gets for life-stage events tends to be mostly for baby showers. Which is fine by me, because I love babies! And yes, I say that recognizing that I don’t have a baby and therefore am speaking from a non-sleep-deprived viewpoint. But I think babies are always A Good Thing!

And speaking of Good Things, I made a baby shower cake for a friend last weekend, hence this Memories of Meals Past post, using the inimitable Martha’s recipe for a basic vanilla cake. I baked the first layer and prepared the animal themed fondant cake toppers, and then realized that I needed to bake a second layer for the cake. So I was still up and baking at 1 am the night before the shower. Needless to say, I was tired the next day. But also satisfied, because I rather liked my cake. Was kind of cute, I thought!

I made some homemade marshmallow fondant using this recipe from Wilton, but frankly, I’ll try another recipe next time. I found the fondant wasn’t as pliable as I’d like (I like to sub in some cornstarch for some of the icing sugar — I find it easier to mold), even though it was super-fun to play with. It’s basically grown-up playdough, that you eat; what’s not to love? And how did I make the animals? I just googled pictures of animal themed fondant cake toppers and went from there. It’s easier than you think, so I urge you to try it.

I made the fondant on a Thursday, baked the cake on a Friday, and made the cake toppers in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I froze the cakes overnight on Friday (err, Saturday really), and the next morning, whipped up some homemade buttercream frosting (using coconut oil instead of shortening in it, which gave it a fabulously coco-nutty flavour).

As I told my mom, it looks homemade, but homemade with love! And I think that’s really the best kind of cake that there is. Wouldn’t you agree?

Next Post: Veggies. Seriously. (Of course as I type this, I’m snacking on homemade chocolate granola. Now if only I could invent chocolate vegetables….Hmm. Food for foodie thought!)