Oh this poor neglected blog of mine. It's been months, and I even attempted to sit down and post at least one more little something before the year ended, but alas... was called away mid-post and completely forgot about it until 2011 had already arrived. I haven't quite put together my resolutions and goals for this year yet - need to review how last year's set went (eek!) But I'm pretty sure improvements in the blog department will fall in there somewhere. So here we go... my first post of the year.
My friends Katie and Ben (picture above from almost a year ago) held their daughter Abby's 1st birthday party yesterday out in Kapolei at Katie's mom's house. I love the parties they hold out there because Mary lives at the end of a cul-de-sac with some pretty cool neighbors, so they do this block party style - tables and chairs in the street, entertainment and activities on the driveway and lawn, park wherever, and the buffet is in the open garage. Who can ask for a better setup?
I offered to make Abby's cake as my gift to her. Hmmm... not sure I thought that offer out very well at the time having NEVER made a cake all the way from scratch (batter to frosting) for 65 or so people. Nor had I ever assembled, decorated, or attempted to deliver one that big. Yikes! What WAS I thinking?!?!
Apparently sometimes I don't think. I just do. With a simple vision, some borrowed recipes and tips from baking friends (mahalo Gigi and Dian!), and a shopping trip for a whole lot of ingredients and suppplies - including my beautiful new KitchenAid mixer, I had finished making and delivering the cake in a little less than 24 hours.
The theme was Minnie Mouse, and I selected the colors and patterns to match the invitation. As luck would have it, it also matched the birthday girl's adorable little party dress.
It was amazing that I made it all the way from my house on a hill in Honolulu to Kapolei with the cake unharmed. Arwen was the greatest little assistant, watching my cake carefully in the back as we seemed to hit every dip and pothole along the way. So of course I had to interfere with perfection by dinging the damn top tier while pulling the carrier out of the car. Thankfully buttercream is forgiving, and I had my repair tools and spare frosting with me. Crisis averted. The cake looked good.
Considering this was my first try, I was pretty proud of the outcome, and my friends said it was both beautiful and delicious. Mission accomplished. Happy Birthday Abby!
A few more pictures from the special occasion are on flickr.
