Elmo (in pastry form, that is)

So as you'll see from my previous post, we had a Sesame Street theme for Carter's 2nd Birthday Party. I'm sure I could have picked up a Sesame Street cake from just about any bakery, but for some reason, I got the itch to make Carter an Elmo cake myself. And after all the time and energy I put into this thing, I'd say it's deserving of its very own post.

I found an Elmo cake pan online, and despite the seemingly intricate, difficult decorating instructions, I wanted to try it anyway. I bought the pan and all the various cake decorating items that I would need (tips, parchment bags, cornstarch, icing dye-not just food coloring, etc., etc.). I decided to make it two days before Carter's birthday so that in the event of a total flop, I would still have time to purchase something else pre-made. All in all, it probably took me about a total of 5 or 6 hours and WAY more money than a sheet cake would have cost, but it was all worth it to see the look on Carter's face when he saw Elmo. And I just might have picked up a new hobby in the process.

Alright, here's the cake after only icing the mouth and nose. I dyed the cake mix red because, well, Elmo's insides are red too, right?

The star-tipped decorating has begun...

Almost done...

Finally finished!!!

So proud of my accomplishment. Don't I look exhausted?

Since I didn't think the cake would feed everyone at the party, I decided to make some cupcakes to go along with it, complete with candied Elmo decorations, of course. And although Carter wasn't able to help with the actual cake because I wanted it to be a surprise, he was able to be my helper in the kitchen the following night for round two: cupcakes. These weren't hard at all to make, but adding a two year old to the mix of cake batter, a hot oven and a wobbly stool can make anything difficult.

It was worth it though; as you can see, licking the spatula was his favorite part. (And yes, he is wearing his Elmo shirt too. Seriously... can't get enough of that zany puppet.)