BIRTHDAY CAKE - FIRST ATTEMPT

I cannot remember ever making a birthday cake for one of my children. Yes, even, just a plain Jane cake. So this year, I had a plan!

We were doing an alphabet birthday party for Kate, so I thought that it would be fun to do a cake in the shape of the letter K.

Brittney gave me lots of tips on how to make it. I was a little nervous, but after the sculpting, became more confident.

The recipe that I started with is called "Too Much Chocolate Cake" from allrecipes.com

WARNING: It is pretty chocolately!!! (But that's just how Kate likes it!) Also, this one is for a bundt pan. I did a regular 9x13, so I turned it down a bit and didn't bake it quite that long.

Too Much Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

I baked it with wax paper in the bottom. After I baked it, I let it cool and then froze the cake.

The next morning, I printed out a template, held it over the cake, and started to trim.

Then, I frosted it. (Next time, I will take the knife, dip it in warm water and smooth out the bumps.)

Then I started to add the fondant. (I used the template again to cut the fondant.)

Marshmallow Fondant (again found on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided

Directions

1. Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

And added trim and a few flowers. (Kate did the decorating.) Here is the finished product:

Whew! What did you think?