My mom celebrated her birthday this last weekend, but was going to be out of town visiting her mom and sister. I wanted to make sure she had SOMETHING fun to share and celebrate her birthday with them, and then I planned to have my whole family over for a proper party the following week.
So, here are the cupcakes I whipped up for her on her actual birthday. I love how these turned out! It's like a bouquet of flowers. But yummier!
And just last night, we had a birthday party for her and this is the cake I made for that occasion. I think it's appropriately themed for Fall, don't you think? I found a similar cake on Wilton.com and was totally inspired!
To make the "pumpkin" on top, you just need to roll out an orange gum paste/fondant mix and cut into fourteen 1/4 inch strips. I put a little stitching in each of the strips.
Connect the loops with a little gum glue and lay them out on a parchment-lined sheet tray for at least 48 hours.
To assemble, place a dowel in the cake and have it stick out on top for the stalk. Cover the dowel with green fondant to make the "handle". Place the pumpkin circles around the fondant. I found that I had to use some additional buttercream to get some of them to stick where I wanted them to stick. And voila! Pumpkin cake! (This cake is actually a chocolate-flecked cake. My mom's new favorite.)
We celebrated her birthday with a meal of Julia Child's Beouff Bourguignon and mashed potatoes, and the most delicious
Apple, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Dressing. YUM!
We finished off the meal with this delicious (if I do say so myself) cake.
Happy Birthday, Mom! You're so fun to celebrate!
