It's been a little while (again) since I've blogged. You know how it is, though... Life happens, kids happen, occasionally some cleaning happens, and then suddenly like a cloud of fog in the middle of an illusion show, days and weeks have disappeared and you sit there, staring in shock, wondering how the heck that possibly happened.
Last week, my family and I got back from a wonderful 10 day family cruise holiday to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. It was great to be away and experience new things, and it was also nice to come back home and be in familiar environments again, with enough space to misplace items in an entire house, instead of just one room.
We came back and charged like an angry cow headfirst into a busy weekend, though, without much time spare to do things like reminisce over photos, and sleep in until 9:30am. By the end of the weekend, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, we realised how much we had appreciated the calm pace of life, everything being done for us, and not having to race from one commitment to the next (or cook, or clean, or remember to get bread and milk from the shop).
While we were away, our daughter had her 10th birthday! So also when we got back, I did what I always do whenever there's a birthday...
Tamara wanted a beach/island themed cake, so I made a simple (trust me, it could have been difficult!) cake, with a blue base (to represent the water), and an island on top. I also made some frangipani flowers with fondant (to see if I could), which only as I was decorating the cake, I decided where they would go.
For the sand (as many people have asked), I used brown sugar mixed with caster sugar (to make it lighter and more realistic). Once the cake was covered in the blue fondant, I piped a mound of buttercream on top of the cake, and then patted the sugar mix onto it. Using a chopstick, I drew a heart on the top.
The palm tree was just printed out, taped onto wire, and stuck in - the easiest part of the cake! Lastly, I arranged the 10 frangipanis 'around' the 'island' :)
It was encouraging that I needed to assure my family that I did not use real sand, and that this 'sand' could be eaten!! Perhaps it was a bit too realistic after all... But it was loved and enjoyed, and that makes me smile.
I made a cake!
This is what it looked like!
For the sand (as many people have asked), I used brown sugar mixed with caster sugar (to make it lighter and more realistic). Once the cake was covered in the blue fondant, I piped a mound of buttercream on top of the cake, and then patted the sugar mix onto it. Using a chopstick, I drew a heart on the top.
The palm tree was just printed out, taped onto wire, and stuck in - the easiest part of the cake! Lastly, I arranged the 10 frangipanis 'around' the 'island' :)
It was encouraging that I needed to assure my family that I did not use real sand, and that this 'sand' could be eaten!! Perhaps it was a bit too realistic after all... But it was loved and enjoyed, and that makes me smile.
Happy 10th birthday Tamara!!
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