The Cakes of Celebration

It was no secret that Saturday was Layla's 4th birthday. One of my "Grandma" things is to make the grandkids' birthday cakes. I'm no professional and the cakes look very much homemade, but so far they have loved what we've come up with. 

Let me see if I can find some photos of what we've done:

They got to decorate their own very large cupcakes.

Brad wanted Mario. Silas was all about the Hulk.

Sharks. His birthday always follows shark week.

Delectable, all chocolate, all the time.

Sometimes we get inspiration from Pinterest once they've chosen a theme, then the actual cake is based on what they find that they like. In all honesty, the cakes never look like the "Pinspiration". My grandkids are very generous in their love for my work.

Harry Potter themed. That's a golden snitch fidget spinner on top.

Flowers and pearls for her first birthday.

Frozen - snowflakes and pearls. She helped with every step of decorating.

Trolls - so. much. fondant.

This Trolls cake was based on a very detailed version found on Pinterest. Layla loved the one I made, and squealed when she saw it, then immediately asked, "Where are all the little animals?". I explained that the flowers took up all the room and she was satisfied. 

Even the grown-ups sometimes get a fancy cake. This one was for Greg's dad's 80th birthday:

It was a white cake with maple buttercream frosting and sprinkled with walnuts. 

Then my sister made me the most delectable chocolate cake for my birthday last summer. Four layers of deliciousness:

Decorated with lilies from the back yard.

It's lots of fun to make our own cakes and we can easily customize flavors and decoration. It truly is an art form, though, and one I am definitely an amateur at, but I enjoy it and am learning each time. As long as the kids are happy with a version of what they see on Pinterest, I'm doing okay.