Zo's My Little Pony Cake

My dear sweet daughter just turned four. This was the first birthday where she really wanted to have a hand in planning out her big birthday party. She had so many ideas and I worked overtime to help her see those ideas come to life. I can't help myself. I have a really hard time saying the word no.

It all began when Z asked me if we could have all the My little Pony's at her party. I said, "Well, we can't have the ponies there, but maybe we could have a little activity set up for each pony?" She liked that idea. So it began. We decided to have a station for each of the six main characters, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie (my favorite) and of course, Twilight Sparkle. 

I took to Pinterest. (See my "My Little Pony Board" here)  I did get some inspiration, but not a ton. One of the first things I knew I needed to make myself... the cake. Here was my checklist for designing and making the cake:

1. Have my Zo-Zo pick out an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, that she want's to watch.

2. Look for a frame within the episode that I think is beautiful and ask Zo if that would make a good cake.

3. After Z approves, pause the video, then draw my original cake design from that image.

4. Contact my brother, who makes cakes with my totally awesome sister-in-law, and ask if we can work together on creating this cake. (See their cakes on facebook by clicking here)

5. Discuss creation ideas with all the foodie people I know

6. Let my brother and Sister-in-law create the tools needed to put the cake together

7. Work with my Sister-in-law to finally put the whole cake together.

This was, by far my most favorite part of the planning process. The "clouds" of the cake were decided upon after my mother-in-law suggested 7 minute frosting as a possibility for  creating this kind of look. Ultimately, my brother chose a recipe for Meringue Cloud Cookies from www.sweetexplorations.com. 

The rainbow waterfall was created from a really Yummy candy called,  Air Head Xtremes! Oh man... I could eat a whole package of these. I really had to rub, pull and bend the candy to shape it, but it worked perfectly!

So, when all was said and done I loved this cake. There is nothing more fantastic then working together with the loved ones in your life to create something, wonderful, beautiful and YUMMY!!! 

Coming up next... Pony Party Decorations: The Cutie Clouds

Natural Egg Dying

 

 

For Easter this year, the family and I decided to take a stab at dying our eggs natural-style. I'd heard horror stories like:

It takes FOREVER to make the dye

Boiling the cabbage stinks up the house

The dye doesn't stick to the eggs

It's too complicated a job for the young kids to help out

Honestly, I found the process to be really simple and a ton more fun then dropping little tablets into water and vinegar.

Step 1: Go to the store and buy your supplies.

We put Zoey in charge of gathering the few items we did not already have on hand at the house.

Below is the information we used to determine our shopping list.

Natural Colorant	Egg Color	Directions	Hints
turmeric powder	bright yellow to deep gold	Put -1-2 tsp. ground turmeric powder in heat proof cup. Fill 2/3 full with boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Works quickly. Turmeric stains so be careful. Wipe dusty spice residue from eggs.
chopped red cabbage	blue/teal	Put 2-3 tbsps. chopped red cabbage in heat safe cup. Add boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Let sit overnight. Avoid excess handling.
onion skins, yellow	light peach to gold/orange	Use 1 large handful of onion skin for each cup of water. Simmer 20 minutes then add 1 tsp. of white vinegar.	A perennial favorite. Easy.
grape juice/Red Wine	blue to purple	Add 1 cup frozen juice concentrate to 1 tsp. vinegar.	Eggs may be simmered right in the juice to cook.
grated red beets	magenta red	Put 2-4 tbsps. freshly grated beets in heat safe cup. Fill 2/3 with boiling water. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.	Speckled design. Dye may be strained before use. Orange beets may be used to obtain saffron color.
red cabbage & turmeric	green	Pour scant tsp. of turmeric and 2-3 tbsps. of chopped red cabbage in a heat safe cup then add boiling water.	Speckled design. Wipe vegetable off with damp cloth.
red cabbage & beet	purple	Put 2 tbsps. grated beet and 2 tbsps. red cabbage in heat safe cup. Add boiling water.	Striking and intense.

Step 2: Prepare to Dye (TIP: Brush the egg with Vinegar before dying. It helps to make the color stick better)

Zoey helped put the eggs in the pot and fill it with water. To get our eggs ever so perfect, we used a Norpro Egg Rite timer. I love that thing.

Next, I poured grape juice concentrate into a cup with vinegar. Zoey enjoyed dying her first egg in the juice while Henry and I prepared for our other dyes.

We grated beets (Red) and chopped up cabbage (Blue).

We took the onion skins we'd collected over the previous week and boiled them in water to make our orange.

Step 3: Put out your cups and make the Dye

We didn't have to boil anything for hours. Aside from the 20 minutes it took to make the orange, onion skin dye, everything else was as easy as putting ingredients in the cup, adding a couple tablespoons vinegar and hot water, then stirring. Zoey was able to help out with nearly every step. And she only cracked two eggs.

I Love That: RED cabbage Looks PURPLE and makes purple dye, yet the eggs turn BLUE.

The yellow, orange, purple and red eggs were done on the spot. The Blue and green, however, were placed in a sealed container and left in the fridge overnight. It was so much fun anticipating the deep Blue and Green eggs we would have in the morning. When Zoey woke up, the first thing she wanted to do was check the fridge for our eggs. (I must say, I was really excited too!)

The colors turned out so earthy and warm. I'm very excited to do this again next year. Next year, Ethan will be able to get more involved and we will have a new little one who can share in the fun as well. ; - D