elmo cake

Last week marked 11 years that I started this blog. It all started with an Elmo cake I made for my oldest niece’s birthday. Since then, there have been posts highlighting other theme cakes, birthday cakes, holiday cakes, cookies, pies, yarn projects and even some jewelry. And a few other things in between.

When I started, I was basically winging it (to some extent I probably still am). I got the basics of how to post my story and pics and went with it. I am still unsure about SEO, but I keep trudging along. I remember when I posted a recipe I would always take (and post) a pic of all of my ingredients assembled for it. It was something I saw other bloggers do so I figured I should do it as well. I moved away from that quite some time ago. Truth be told, nowadays I can be in such a zone creating (be it baking, knitting/crocheting, etc.) that I tend to forget to take a pic of the steps. I focus more now on getting a good pic of the finished project. I’m still working on getting those just right as well. I feel like I’m chasing the sunlight around my house. The different seasons tend to make the sunlight in my house perfect at different times of the day and in different areas of my house. And lately we have been having a ton of cloudy days, so my pics have been looking a bit gray. My recent location for photos has been by my front door. I set-up a table by my storm door to get as much unobstructed natural light as I can. This involves me contorting and squatting in a tight space to get the picture just right. And probably has my neighbors who have spotted me doing this wondering what the heck I am doing as they aren’t able to see my set-up, just me taking pics. When I come home at night I tend to stand in my yard and look up at the stars (which I think may be an odd sight at night), so this just adds to my eccentricities. It might be time to invest in one of those nifty backdrops to take my pictures though.

During these 11 years there have been times when I thought about ending my blog or taking an extended break from it. But I enjoy creating and writing and what better way to flex that muscle than with a blog. I have noticed that quite a few blogs I do (or did) follow have stopped and I get it. Blogging does take some time and I don’t just mean the writing (which of course takes time as well). You have to create the content. Whether it be working on a creative piece, testing a recipe, creating a recipe from scratch, that all takes time. And having extra time to do things is such a commodity! I am constantly making lists or going through things in my head to make sure I get everything I want done done. There’s always a list. I get such a feeling of accomplishment when I cross things off my lists. Maybe it’s a psychological thing, regardless, it works, and I am going with it. I have even started to try and map out the things I want to post about as well. Baking things earlier for holiday posts so I am not scrambling a day or two before to get all done. So, cheers to 11 years and hopefully too many more to come! Oh, and here’s a pic of my niece’s birthday cake this year… She turned 13 so instead of a theme cake something a bit more sophisticated!

It’s been a while since I have properly decorated a cake and I have never done a character cake. But, for my friend’s daughters’ second birthday I decided to make her an Elmo cake; it’s one of her favorite characters and was the theme of her birthday party. After going to three different Michael’s craft stores I was finally able to find the Elmo cake pan that I would need.

I used a basic yellow cake mix to make the cake. I have never been so apprehensive about making a cake. I was fearful that when I flipped the pan over Elmo would somehow be stuck to the pan or worse break in half. Thankfully I prepped the pan well and Elmo popped right out!

After cooling overnight Elmo was ready to come to life. First I needed to make the icing and color it. While I did use a box mix for the cake (my favorite is Betty Crocker) I decided to make the buttercream icing from scratch. Coloring icing is not always fun, especially when you have to make dark colors like red and black. I ended up using the entire 1 oz. jar of Wilton no-taste red to get Elmo’s fur the proper shade of red. Thankfully orange wasn’t as daunting to make.

Now that my icing colors were the right shade it was time to decorate. I started off with filling in Elmo’s mouth and icing his nose.

After an hour or so of meticulous work Elmo was done and I must say I was quite pleased with how he came out. His eyes took me a while to get right but it was well worth the time. He was a hit at the party and brought a great big smile to the birthday girl’s face.

Buttercream Icing (From Wilton)

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

4 cups (1 lb.) sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Cream butter and shortening with an electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.