End-of-School Interviews for 2014-2015
Our summer is flying by so quickly… and I still need to finalize our plans for the upcoming school year. How are your plans coming along?
{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: Amongst Lovely Things
Teacher Appreciation Gifts {with Free Printables!}
End-of-School Party at the Family Fun Center
July 4th: Celebrating Our Traditional American Family
A Hockey Birthday
He was so excited when he woke up to discover his Hockey Jersey Birthday Cake, the Face-off Puck Cakes, the Stanley Cup Ice Cream Cones, and all the other treats and decorations we made for his special day.
 |
| Ranger made sure that the Capitals were still represented! |
I had a couple games to play including NHL Spot it! and the NHL Bingo I created 7 years ago for one of our older boys’ 8th birthday, but the biggest attraction at Grandma and Grandpa’s house is always getting rides on the golf cart or Grandpa’s quad.
Stanley Cup Ice Cream Cones
 |
| “One of the benefits of helping mom with birthday prep = mini ice cream cones made from some of the leftovers.” – Captain |
Supplies:
- Joy Ice Cream Cups (2 for each finished treat/cone)
- Keebler Ice Cream Cups (1 for each finished treat/cone)
- Keebler Fudge Stripes
- White Candy Melts
- Silver Color Mist (or use edible silver pearl dust)
- M&M’s
- Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
- York minis (optional)
Directions:
Using a serrated knife, carefully cut off the rounded “cup” area from the Keebler Ice Cream Cup and put aside. We also trimmed the edge of one of the Joy Ice Cream Cups so that the edge would be flat/straight when stacked on top of the bottom Ice Cream Cup.
I wasn’t able to find a round cookie the size we needed for the bottom so we filled the center of Keebler Fudge Stripes with a brown M&M and secured it with some melted white chocolate for the base of the Stanley Cups.
Next, put melted chocolate in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. (We used a plastic bag with the corned clipped off.) The original directions suggested piping “melted chocolate on the base of the ice cream cup and slide it inside the second ice cream cup, stacking and sealing them together.” We skipped this step so that they could be taken apart during the party and used for Ice Cream, saving the treat side for later.
Pipe a ring of chocolate on the top of the Stanley Cup and attach the ice cream cone “bowl” cut earlier on top.
Before filling the bottom cups with treats (M&M’s) and attaching the base (cookie) we temporarily put the cones together and spray painted them silver with Silver Color Mist. This wasn’t the most cost-effective thing to do, and we ended up needing a second can (purchased with 60% off coupons at least) to cover the cones that we made.
After the silver spray has dried, fill the bottom cup (the ice cream cup that wasn’t trimmed or cut at all) with candy, then pipe chocolate around the edges of the opening and place the cookie over the opening to seal. Stand the ice cream cups cookie-side down.
Re-assemble cones, set on tray, and let color and chocolate dry overnight in a cool, dry place.
Celebrating the Birthday of St. John the Baptist
Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars made with Avocado and Coconut! After nearly 4 months (113 days to be exact) on an incredibly strict Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet I finally added something back in… a little cocoa powder to make the chocolate layer for these treats… to celebrate today’s solemnity! I’m praying that it doesn’t end up being one of my triggers, but so far so good!
 |
| The Birthday of Saint John the Baptist from SAINTS: A Year in Faith and Art |
Hot Chocolate & Marshmallow Face-Off Puck Cakes {Hockey Themed Cupcakes}
While I was decorating the Hockey Jersey Birthday Cake, some of our older children were busy with other birthday preparations… Twinkle Toes baked “Hot Chocolate & Marshmallow Cupcakes” and Ranger carefully created the “Face-Off” inspired decorations to place on top of the cupcakes! (Captain was working on another fun treat which I’ll share next.) It’s was so nice having help!!!
- Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
- Marshmallow Frosting
- Pretzel Sticks
- Black Candy Melts, melted
- M&M’s (Dark Brown works if you can’t find Black)
- Plastic Bag (with corner cut off)
A Hockey Jersey Birthday Cake
This past Sunday (Father’s Day!) we celebrated our little hockey player’s 8th birthday! It was his first time playing this last season and I’m sure it will not be his last. He loves Hockey!
 |
| A photo from the Parent vs. Players Hockey Game last March! |
He had requested a hockey themed birthday earlier this year and of course, other than ordering a couple gifts, I put off making any plans until the very last minute this past Saturday! After a trip to the craft and grocery stores, and some help from my husband and older children, it all came together Saturday afternoon and evening. I wanted to do something different than our older son’s Capitals themed Hockey Birthday (over 5 years ago on his 8th birthday!) so I ended up focusing on black and silver for the LA Kings, the birthday boy’s favorite NHL team, and made a Hockey Jersey Birthday Cake. The cake was such a hit and could be easily modified for any sport or team!
Supplies:
- 1 – 9×12 Sheet Cake, frosted (the birthday boy requested a plain yellow cake with vanilla marshmallow frosting)
- 1 batch of Marshmallow Fondant (recipe below)
- Sugar Sheets in desired team colors – I used Silver and Black for the LA Kings (I hand cut the letters used for the name out of the black sugar sheet, but you could also use the Alphabet Sugar Sheet.)
I made this recipe again with regular sized marshmallows, however I didn’t refrigerate it overnight as suggested. It probably would have been much easier to roll and place had it been refrigerated.
This was only the second time I’ve made my own fondant, and the first time I’ve tried covering a whole cake, but I’d definitely do it again! Everyone always loves the marshmallow fondant.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 (16 ounce) package marshmallows
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, divided
Directions:
- Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside.
- Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff. (You may end up needing additional powdered sugar to get the right consistency… I did.)
- Rub your hands thoroughly with butter, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
Decorate Cake:
Roll out white Marshmallow Fondant, reserving some to use for the sleeves. Cover the cake with fondant and trim off any excess. (Note: I really needed a larger fondant rolling pin – mine is pretty small and my rolling pin is too heavy – and had trouble rolling my fondant large enough to cover the whole cake, so I just made sure it was wide enough to cover the top, and long enough to cover the top and bottom of the jersey. The sleeves took care of the other two sides.)
 |
| That moment while making one of my kids’ birthday cakes when I think it’s going to be a total failure…. #happenseverytime #decoratingcakesisstressful #atleastsomeoneisexcitedabouttheprogress |
Before adding the sleeves I placed a silver and black stripe at the bottom of the jersey using the sugar sheets. I had purchased the sugar sheets “just in case” and I was glad that I did. I tried to color some of the marshmallow fondant using a lot of black gel coloring, but instead of getting silver/gray and black I ended up with lavender and dark purple… (Actually the dark purple looks pretty black now that it’s been sitting in the fridge for a couple days, maybe it just needed a little time.) The sugar sheets were so much easier and looked great on the finished cake!
I cut the sugar sheets with a paper cutter, though you could easily hand cut them as well. I lightly misted the fondant with a little water so that the sugar sheets would adhere to the cake. At this point I hadn’t considered that the bottom corners of the cake wouldn’t be covered by the sleeves, otherwise I would have cut the sugar sheets the longest length possible versus just cutting the width. I ended up having to add in a couple smaller pieces of silver sugar sheet on each side, but it was no big deal and I was the only one who noticed the imperfections! 🙂
I hand cut the letters for the name at the top of the jersey and then printed out the number 8 using the “Freshman” font (you can download it here or find it at Picmonkey) to use as a template for cutting the sugar sheet.
0 Comments