Watermelon Pirate Ship

Thought this would be a cute addition to the Pirate Themed Party!

I cut this out with a supper sharp knife.  Then scooped out the inside. I chopped up the watermelon pieces and a cantaloupe and placed in the middle.  I then used a metal skewer stick, with paper sails and the pirate flag, threw the middle. 

Pirate Ship Cake

My little boy loves Jake and The Never Land Pirates.  He told me for months he wanted a Bucky Ship for his birthday cake. I was dreading this one, but it turned out not being so bad after all.  Oh, and I must say, he LOVED it!

• 3 cake boxes
• Butter Cream frosting
• Chocolate Butter cream frosting
• White chocolate chips
• Wafer cookies
• Tootsie rolls
• Pirouettes cookies
• Gram cracker
• Fruit roll-ups
• Whoppers
• food coloring
• Jake and The Never Land Pirate figurines from Disney store (one of his birthday gifts)
  
  I baked 2 chocolate cake mixes in my large cake pan.  I then cooked two round ones and one in a can out of the other cake mix. 
  
  

 My large cake pan made exactly 3 rectangle pieses that were the same size.  I layerd the 3, using frosting like glue between each layer, and then cut into the shpe I wanted.  I then placed the cake out of the can on a foam block in the front and shaped it to look like the front of the 'Bucky' ship. 

 

Frost with a thin layer of frosting and place in the freezer for an hour. 

Take out and frost both cakes.  Then decotate.  I put my bag of tootsie rolls in the sun so they were nice and soft.  This made it easy to shape the railing on the deck, the bell and the ladder.  I then shaped a fruit roll-up for the slide.  I cut a wafer cookie for the windows and the door.  Frosted a gram cracker for the back.  I piped the yellow buttercream frosting around the edge.  I frosted the whole cardboard piece with blue frosting using a frosting knife, making it look like waves.  I then but half a Pirouette cookie in the front of the ship and piped an anchor on the side.  Used a skewer stick and a piece of paper for the sail.

I couldn't find the mini striped cookies for the life rafts on the side, so I cut a larger one down.



I crushed some gram crackers and sprinkled on the little Island to make it look like sand. (Do this before you frost the water)

I melted white chocolate and added green food coloring.  I then spooned it on a spoon covered with wax paper and shaped it into a leaf.  Once they were hard, I place three together and placed a glob of melted chocolate in the middle and held a Pirouette cookie in it until it hardened.  Placed 2 palm trees in the cake and placed Whoppers around the bottom to make it look like fallen coconuts.

Once every thing is decorated, place in freezer for a few hours. 

 

Fondant

Easy and great for adding decorations to cakes.

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup shortening
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp clear vanilla
• 2 lbs confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, stir together the shortening and corn syrup. Mix in the salt and vanilla flavoring, then gradually mix in the confectioners sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, knead in more confectioners sugar until it is smooth.  To use, roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick or thinner if you can. Drape over frosted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down, or cut into shapes to make decorations.

Mack Truck Birthday Cake

Shandon wanted a Mack cake because he loves the movie Cars.  He loved it!

• 3 cake mixes
• bendy straws
• Hershey's chocolate Nuggets
• York peppermint patties
• mini marshmallow
• fondant
• buttercream frosting

Mix cake according to directions on box.  Bake 3 9x13" cakes.  Layer and shape the cakes into the truck.  Decorate with frosting, fondant, and candy.   I printed out the car decals using photo paper.  I used a paper plate cut and frosted for the brim of his hat.

Buttercream Frosting

This is a simple, yet yummy, frosting that's great for decorating Birthday Cakes!

1 cup butter

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 TBS vanilla extract

up to 4 TBS milk

Beat butter in mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar then add vanilla and 2 TBS milk. You can add more sugar or milk depending on the consistency you like your frosting.

Combine Cake

When Durant said he wanted a combine cake I about flipped.  That was going to be so hard...I thought.  Turned out not being so bad and I must say he absolutely loved it!!

• 2 cake mixes
• small chocolate doughnuts (back tires)
• Ding Dongs (front tires)
• candy corn
• bendy straw
• Toblerone Candy
• Buttercream Frosting

Mix cake according to directions on box.  Then bake 2 9x13 in. cakes.  Cut two pieces of cake out in a smaller rectangle about 5x8 in.  and place on top of each other.  I put frosting in between the two layers.  This cake I sat on a Styrofoam block covered with foil.  I then placed a wooden skewer stick through it in a few spots to make sure it holds.  I then cut a square piece and made a hole for the corn to go in. I then cut a piece for the cab and the header piece. I placed those on the cake with frosting and more sticks.  I piped the frosting on this cake because of all the cut edges.  Stuck the doughnuts and Ding Dongs on with toothpicks and added frosting to the middles. Place Toberone candy on in the front.  Frost your straw.  If you kind of let the frosting harden then dip your finger in shortening and smooth the frosting out with your finger it works the best.  

Choo Choo Train Cake

This is our official 2 year old boys cake.  Both of my boys loved trains at this age and they both LOVED their cakes!

• 2 cake boxes
• M&M's
• York Peppermint Patties
• Raisinets
• Mini Kit Kat's or Mini Cow Tales
• Mike N Ikes
• Black Licorice
• Butter cream Frosting
• • 1 cup butter
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 TBS vanilla extract
  • up to 4 TBS milk
  • Beat butter in mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar then add vanilla and 2 TBS milk. You can add more sugar or milk depending on the consistency you like your frosting.

Mix the cakes according to directions on box. I baked the Engine in a loaf pan and cut it into the shape I wanted.  I baked the round part in a can.  I then baked the other three in mini loaf pans and the top to the caboose in a super mini loaf pan.  Made the tracks with the licorice and then placed the cakes on.  It's best to put them in the freezer for a few hours.  Then I frost with one layer of frosting and put back in the freezer for an hour.  Frost and decorate.  I used a marshmallow for the smoke stack.  I then used Raisinets for the coal car and Kit Kat's for one and Cow Tales for the other log car. I used the peppermint patties for the wheels and decorated with M&M's and the Mike N Ikes.

Monster Truck Cake

So this didn't turn out like I had it pictured in my head...My husband says it looks more like a rally car, but Durant loved it and that's all that matters right! 

• 3 Cake boxes
• Gram Crackers
• Peanut Butter
• Butter cream Frosting
• 1 cup butter
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 TBS vanilla extract
• up to 4 TBS milk
• Beat butter in mixing bowl.  Gradually add sugar then add vanilla and 2 TBS milk.  You can add more sugar or milk depending on the consistency you like your frosting.

I baked 2 9x13 cakes and 1 8x8 cake and 4 small bunt pan cakes.  Then I cut the cakes down so they weren't so wide and added a piece I cut off for the angle of the windshield.  I put the cake on blocks covered with foil.  I then stuck wooden skewer sticks in to hold it all together and then put it in the freezer for a few hours.  I took it out and put 1 layer of frosting on and put back in the freezer for 20 min. I then frosted and decorated the cake using cake piping tools. For this cake I used only the butter cream frosting to decorate.  I put gram crackers covered in peanut butter with gold sprinkles to look like piles of dirt the truck was going over.