Make a basketball cake for a miniature superstar.
For the next birthday celebration, make a cake at home using the child's interests as a guide for the design. Forgo on the traditional rectangular slab birthday cake, and make a custom cake that coordinates with the party's theme, his favorite television show or her favorite activity. Use sugar paste, fondant and candies for extra decorations. Does this Spark an idea?
Carousel Cake
Make a carousel cake decorated in the party's color scheme. Prepare three round cakes and cut the tops off two of them to make a flat surface. Spread icing on one of the two and place the second flat cake on top. Cover the cakes in buttercream icing, and decorate the cake with streams of icing and candies. Cover a cake-decorating lazy Susan with the same icing, and place in the center of the cakes. The lazy Susan is a baking tool used to turn cakes for spreading icing. Decorate the cake with the rounded top to make the carousel top and place it on top of the lazy Susan, so that the top cake will turn. Make the animals for the carousels from cookies baked on thin wooden dowels and decorated to match the cake.
Gumball Cake
For a candy-themed birthday party, make a gumball cake, decorated with real gumballs. Cut the shape of the machine from a large rectangular cake. Cover the bottom of the cake with a smooth layer of red buttercream icing, and the top with a layer of white butter cream icing. Roll out a store-bought package of fondant, and cut out shapes for the coin slot and the opening at the bottom of the machine. Cover the bottom of the white section of cake with small gumballs, and place some at the bottom opening as well. For extra decoration, cut out small circles of white fondant, press the impression of a plastic coin into each circle, and paint each with gold and silver icing powder, available at baking supply stores to give the icing a metallic coating. Surround the cake with the fondant coins.
Piñata Cake
For an extra birthday surprise, make a two-layer cake in the shape of the piñata, and fill the center with soft candies. Cut out the shape of the piñata from a large rectangular cake and use the cake to cut out a second piñata-shaped cake. The piñata can be made into any shape to match the theme of the party. Spread a layer of icing on the top of one of the cakes and place the candies on the icing. Place the other cake on top and cover the entire cake in icing. Choose three or four icing colors and decorate the cake in sections of color with a pastry bag and round icing tip.
Sport Uniform Cake
For a little sports enthusiast, make a uniform cake with running shoes and soccer ball, football or basketball. Cut a T-shirt shape from a large rectangular cake and cover the cake with buttercream icing or fondant. Outline the neck of the shirt, the bottom and the shirtsleeves with strips of fondant. Make sports emblems on the cake by placing a stencil on the cake and air-brushing icing onto the shirt. Make the sports ball by mashing up one or two baked cakes, mixing in icing and forming the mix into the ball. Cover the cake with the appropriate pattern in icing to complete the ball. Add a pair of running shoes made from cake and formed into a shoe in the same manner as the ball.
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