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i am looking for someone that makes custom birthday cakes or cupcakes...i need a volcano cake for my sons 4th bday party. Thanks in advance for any recommendations! need a cake!
My son's first birthday is coming up, I would like to get some recommendations for a good bakery where I can get cakes shaped liked Disney characters or in the shape of ships, cars, etc. and also have all the qualities of a good tasting cake. Thanks, anon
The archives have lots of great recommendations for ''regular'' birthday cakes, but since my son has a peanut and milk allergy (so no milk, cream, butter, etc.) we would love some suggestions about where to go for a cake or cupcakes for his second birthday party. Ideally I'd like one big yummy cake that both the parents and kids will enjoy instead of having to do a separate little cake for my son and a different one for the rest of the guests (plus I don't want to worry about people giving him a bite of the wrong one). Any thoughts? yummy mummy
If you want a dairy-free cake with icing, you can get a nice one from Grand Bakery on Grand Ave in Oakland (as a kosher bakery, they specialize in baked goods with no dairy, since people who observe the kosher laws will not have a dairy dessert after a meat meal). They do round and sheet cakes with icing and decorations Elizabeth
1 1/2 c Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 tsp Vanilla 1 c Sugar 1 tsp Vinegar 3 tbl Cocoa 5 tbl Vegetable Oil 1 tsp Baking Soda 1 c Cold Water 1/2 tsp SaltMix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour 1 c cold water over all and stir. No need to beat. Pour into 8 x 8-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F oven until it springs back. You can double the recipe and make two for a layered cake. I just sprinkled powdered sugar on it and it was perfect! Laurel
Anyone have a recommendation for which bakery location they like best for cakes, between Safeway and Albertsons? I'd like to get my sons birthday cake there but I don't know which one to go to. Thanks! Kim
Where is the best place to get a birthday cake in Berkeley, Albany, or Oakland? Lily
My two year old has requested a strawberry cake for her birthday party. I'm no cook, but I thought I could pull off an angel food cake with strawberries and cream...if I could buy a decent angel food cake! Can anyone recommend a good source? Taking it easy this year
Baking a cake really isn't hard. And you can buy strawberry flavored cake mix; using a cake mix takes about as much effort and expertise as fixing boxed macaroni-and-cheese.
If you are really opposed to the idea of baking it yourself, how about a strawberry ice cream cake? Cold Stone, Ben & Jerry's and Baskin Robbins all sell ice cream cakes. Holly
1 1/2 cups egg whites (11 to 12 large eggs) 1 1/2 cups (150 g) sifted confectioners sugar (sift before measuring) 1 cup (100 g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Special equipment: a 10-inch tube pan (about 4 inches deep) with a removable bottom Let egg whites stand in bowl of a standing electric mixer (see cooks' note) at room temperature about 1 hour before making cake. (They should be about 600F, slightly below room temperature.) Set oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 3500F. Sift together confectioners sugar, flour, and salt onto a sheet of wax paper using a triple sifter or fine sieve. Beat whites in mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat at medium speed until they form soft peaks. Add granulated sugar gradually, beating, and continue beating just until whites are thickened and form soft, droopy peaks. Beat in vanilla. Sprinkle one fourth of sifted dry ingredients over whites and fold in with a rubber spatula gently but thoroughly. Fold in remaining dry ingredients, one third at a time. Gently pour batter evenly into ungreased tube pan and bake until top is light golden, cake retracts a bit from pan and springs back when touched lightly, and a tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Invert pan onto neck of an empty wine bottle or a large metal funnel and cool cake completely. To remove cake from pan, run tip of a long, narrow knife between outer edge of cake and pan. Tilt cake pan on its side and gently tap bottom edge against counter. Rotate pan, tapping and turning a few more times, until cake appears free. Cover pan with a metal rack or cardboard round and invert, tapping pan firmly to loosen cake. Lift pan from cake. (It should come out beautifully, like a pillow taken out of a slipcover.) Slice cake with a serrated knife, using a sawing motion.Tsan
I'd like to make my daughter's first birthday cake, but I don't have a recipe for a good chocolate cake. The icing will be orange-chocolate. I've heard that the cakes with coffee as one of the ingredients are pretty good. Anyone have a good recipe? happycamper I found a great recipe on Epicurious (Double Chocolate Layer Cake) It is the best chocolate cake I have ever made at home. Don't worry if you don't have 10-inch pans. I just use 9-inch pans and pour leftover batter into a muffin pan. I'm sure it will be delicious with your orange-chocolate frosting. http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=101275 Joanna
Mahogany Chiffon Cake 3/4 c. boiling water 1/2 c. cocoa 1 3/4 c. sifted cake flour 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1/2 c. vegetable oil 8 egg yolks 2tsp vanilla 8 egg whites (1 cup) 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 1 3/4 c. sugar Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine boiling water and cocoa; cool. sift flour, soda and salt into mixing bowl. making a well, add in order; oil, egg yolks, cocoa mixture and vanilla. Beat with wooden spoon until smooth. in large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar to very stiff peaks. Do not underbeat ( a dry rubber spatula leaves a clean path). Pour egg yolk mixture in thin stream over entire surface of egg whites, gently cutting and folding in with the spatula until blended. Do not stir. Pour into 10-inch angel food tube pan. Bake 65-70 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan on bottle utnil cold. Loosen from sides of tube with a spatula. Turn pan over and hit edge sharply on table to release cake.Hope it turns out well. have a great birthday party.
P.S. If you like this recipe, consider buying the awesome cookbook it comes from, called ''Yum!'' put out by El Cerrito Preschool Co-op (professionally published). 350 recipes, lots of award-winners, international stuff, desserts aplenty and kids- stuff. $12 each. Christine
One Bowl Chocolate Cake Makes 2 eight-inch square or 3 eight-inch round layers Unsalted butter, for pans 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for pans 3 cups all-purpose flour 3 cups sugar 1 tablespoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1. Preheat oven to 350B0. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round or square cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment, and dust with cocoa. 2. Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, stir in eggs, 1 1/2 cups warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes. 3. Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake, rotating once, until tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes for 8-inch layers, depending on amount of batter. 4. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely, right side up on rack.timjean
1 cup unsweetened cocoa 2 3/4 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 2 cups water* Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9'' baking pans. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl. Ad wet ingredients to dry and beat until just smooth; do not overbeat. Pour evenly into pans; batter will be thin. Bake for approximately 25-35 minutes or until a clean toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. * You can substitute up to half of the water with milk, buttermilk (makes a richer cake), or even some coffee, if you choose.Liz D.
I'm having a birthday party for my 2 year old, and would like to make a fun BEAR shaped cake, but don't want to serve CAKE because i don't want to serve up lots of SUGAR. Several of the parents coming are also interested in finding creative ways to have sweet treats that are NOT filled with sugar. NOR filled with nutra-sweet type products. does anyone have suggestions to make low/non sugar birthday cakes? thanks, from a sweet-tooth lori
Can anyone tell me where I could get a cake with a personal photo recreated on the icing? I may have heard that Costco does it, but I'm not a member so that's not ideal (would have to bug a friend to go with me). Anywhere else? Thanks! anon
I'm wondering if anyone out there has advice on how to construct a cake that looks like a lion or a zebra? My daughter's third birthday is approaching and when asked what kind of cake she'd like (I was expecting the answer to be ''chocolate'' or ''vanilla''), she very firmly announced ''a lion.'' Since then she's vascillated between a lion and a zebra, but in any case I need help! I'm a fairly experienced baker, but I'm not very good at envisioning things. I looked at cake books at the library, but although there are bunny cakes galore, I can't find a lion or zebra. Has anyone out there made one or does anyone know where I could find a picture/model/directions for how to do so?
Also, there is some sort of recipe for ''Zebra Cake'' I found searching on google.com. It involves putting together oreos with whipping cream and freezing, then when one slices it there is a striped look. Happy birthday to your child! Jeanne
Zebra: These are actually for ponies, but easily adapted by icing in black and white stripes: http://www.birthdayexpress.com/bexpress/planning/ponycake.asp http://family.go.com/recipes/special/cake/cake_pony/
Lion: http://www.cookingvillage.com/cv/recipe/art/0,1684,sLang%3Dus&iObj%3D3237&iCat%3D34&iCatObj%3D5152,00.html
Here's a tiger -- add cookies or coconut around the edges for a mane to turn it into a lion: http://family.go.com/recipes/special/cake/cake_tiger/
Have fun! Holly
Feel free to email me and I will reply with a photo of the cake - - a picture's worth a thousand words, they say! Also I'd be happy to give you some other tips and pass along a few things I learned.
Oh, and as for a zebra... when I was a kid, my mom used to make something we called ''zebra cake.'' My brother and I loved it! It might not be what you're looking for because it won't look much like a zebra from the outside, but maybe you can take this idea and turn it into something that can be decorated to look like a zebra on the exterior as well. Anyway, this cake is very simple. Buy a box of simple chocolate wafer cookies (she used Nabisco ''famous'' chocolate wafers) and make whipped cream. Spread a good amount (I'd say about a 1/8'' to 1/4'' layer) of whipped cream over one side of the cookie. Repeat with another cookie and stack it on top of the first. Do this with the entire box of cookies, eventually putting your tower on its side so that it is a log. Then spread more whipped cream around the entire outside of the log; wrap it tightly in saran wrap, and refrigerate overnight. When you're ready to serve the cake, be sure to cut it on the diagonal so that each piece will have several black and white zebra stripes. The cookies will have absorbed some of the moisture of the whipped cream, so they will be soft and cake-like. If memory serves, it's delicious!
Happy baking, and happy birthday to your daughter - Sarah
So my little boy wants an ''Octopus cake'' for his upcoming third birthday. (''with monster candles, too.'') Now, is this something I can make? Anyone out there have a website or an old Good Housekeeping clip that details how one goes about creating the abovementioned Octopus cake? Any moms who've already tackled this particular sea creature and can advise me on which pans and food dyes to use? Or should I just up and buy a big rubber octopus to plop on top of your standard issue cake? I invoke the spirit of Martha Stewart! Julie T.
Use a bundt cake (or rounded metal mixing bowl) for the center part of the octopus (since they're rounded). For the arms, you could either back a rectangular cake and cut in 8 squiggly shapes and/or piece the odd pieces together with frosting; or (and especially if the bundt cake will serve enough people) purchase some long candy snakes or worms and group them together. If you make the arms out of cake, when it's frosted, no one will see where you've pieced it all together. You can also decorate the plate the cake goes on with purchase jelly fish, etc. Don't underestimate the purchased candy pieces' ability to add interest. They can also be used for eyes, suction cups, etc. Catherine
I found a simple idea for an octopus here: http://www.folies.net/images/Sea.gif and one for a cupcake (with jelly worm candy tentacles) here: http://family.go.com/recipes/special/cake/cake_octopus/
That cupcake could be made full-size by baking the cake in a bowl for the head, and using something larger (licorice ropes?) for the tentacles. Or, stack the bowl-shaped cake on top of a regular round cake layer, frost, and then decorate with icing (with the tentacles drawn down the sides, as if the octopus were sitting on top of a rock or something).
Or, use the bowl for the head and cupcakes or shapes cut out of a cake layer for the tentacles - curled up.
If your son would be happy with one that looked like those baby toys, you could use ice cream cones (with or without cake baked in them, or filled with frosting or whipped cream) for the tentacles.
Dyes are easy -- just ask your son what color the octopus should be, and use regular food coloring to achieve the appropriate color of buttercream icing.
I also ran across a few sites describing how to make octopi out of hot dogs. Sounds cute. (You just slice into the end of the hot dog before it's cooked to make 8 long, thin wedges (leaving about an inch of the opposite end uncut), and poke holes for eyes, and when you boil it, the 'tentacles' curl up and the 'eyes' pop out.) Maybe you could offer octopus hot dogs, and an (easier) fish shaped cake. :-) Holly
We're having a Thomas the train theme birthday party for our 2 year old son. I'm looking for a bakery preferrably in the Concord, Walnut Creek, Lamorinda area to make a Thomas cake. I'm willing to travel outside of these areas if someone has a good recommendation. I know I can't be the only mom searching for a Thomas cake! Thanks.
A few weeks ago, someone posted the name of a place (bakery?) where a cake pan in the shape of Blue, the puppy from Blue's Clues, could be rented. My daughters 3rd birthday is coming up soon and she has her heart set on having a Blue themed party. I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me where to rent / buy the cake pan. Richa
I'm looking for bug themed cake decorations for my daughters
birthday (ladybugs, butterflies, dragonflies etc.). I've heard of
edible ones made of sugar and I'm sure plastic ones are available
too. All I have been able to find are butterfly shaped plastic
rings in many colors. I have checked at Party America and found
nothing there. Does anyone know of anyplace where I can find
something appropriate?
Thank you,
Going buggy planning a bug-themed party
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/specialfeature/cakefinder-birthday/
I decorated the cake with candy from ''Sweet Dreams''. She had licorice whip antennae, blue M&M eyes attached to tiny marshmallows, red wings with flat black candies for her dots, coconut grass that was tinted green with food coloring, etc.
If you'd like a picture, I can try sending it to you, although I have never sent a pix on this website. But the ablove link is a lot of fun to look at. Best, Jerri
My soon to be 3 yr-old son wants a crocodile cake for his birthday. I am not the baking, cooking type of mom so any ideas on how to get pans shaped like a crocodile heads, etc. will be much appreciated. Thanks EA
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/cake/cake_crocodile/
If you're mildly artistic, you could probably also cut a sheet cake into a side-view of a crocodile.
This place may also sell a croc cake mold - not sure if they sell retail or not. http://www.lloydpans.com/BakingTools/decorating/
Good luck! Sounds like fun! -- JP Jeni Paltiel
(1) Bake a rectangular cake, frost it with green, brown and blue to look like a swamp, and decorate it with small plastic toy crocodiles.
(2) Bake a rectangular cake and cut a shallow triangle off of two of the corners so that you have something that looks like a reptilian head. Use part of the triangles you have cut off to make 'eyes' that stick up. Frost the entire thing with green, and then pipe brown frosting on for the details of eyes, mouth, nose. Cut a few sticks of gum into triangles and apply to the sides for teeth. (Often for an animal shape, it's easier to do just the head than to create the entire animal.)
I've done a frog, a turtle, a caterpillar, a quail (!), a train and a fire engine so far, and I'd be happy to help you out if my description above isn't clear enough. holly
---------------------- Caroline Goldilocks Bakery in the "Pacific East Mall" shopping center at the Albany/Richmond/El Cerrito border (between the El Cerrito hill and the freeway) will do all sorts of wonderful looking birthday cakes on wild themes from Hercules to merry go rounds, from Winnie the Pooh to firetrucks and the like. You can see many neat looking sample cakes displayed in their window. This mall is new (only about a year old) and has all sorts of interesting businesses and tasty asian restaurants. Give them a call to get a quote on the cake. --------------- Melissa If Just Desserts doesn't already have a fire truck cake in their "custom book", they will happily put any fire truck design you bring into them on the cake of your choice. (You need to bring it in a week in advance.) If you actually want your cake to be in the shape of a fire truck, I suppose they could do that too, but you'd probably better call/stop in well in advance of the big day to find out. You can order a custom cake at any Just Desserts location. Good luck! ---------------- Louise To the parent who wants a bakery recommendation for a custom (firetruck) shaped birthday cake: Ladyfingers Bakery in Oakland is a fabulous bakery. The people there are very helpful and happy to talk about special orders. Bring them a picture of what you have in mind, if you can. Their prices are lower than comparable high-quality bakeries in the area, probably because they are not in a pricey location. But the cakes, and everything else there, are the best I've ever had. ------------- myr When my son was three we did a tour of the firehouse for his birthday party. We just called our local firehouse ahead of time and they were incredibly nice. We brought them some danish, and they gave us a tour of the firehouse, let us climb on the trucks and showed us the equipment. They also let the kids try on the firecoats and boots. We have a very cute picture of my little boy in a fire coat. They gave us hats, and we went home and ate a cake with a picture of a firetruck on it from the Montclair Bakery. If you bring a picture they will attempt to make a cake that way. They are a very good bakery, so you're getting a cake that adults and children both enjoy. ----------------- Have you thought about baking/decorating your own cake? Spun Sugar (on University) rents cake pans of all shapes and sizes for only a couple dollars. I just decorated my son's cake for his 2nd birthday (Thomas the Tank Engine) and the results were actually quite good considering I'd never done it before. I just followed the directions that came with the pan (which I bought at a Party City). It requires a bit more time, but was definitely worth it! Even if you're just looking for someone professional to do it, I know that Spun Sugar can give you referrals -- I saw cards and brochures by their register. I bought last minute supplies from them and they were VERY helpful. Good luck! -------------------- Heather Check out this website: http://family.go.com/Categories/Activities/Features/family_1998_05/famf/famf58birthday/famf58birthday2.html It has a fire truck cake you can make yourself. Good luck!
With younger children it's easy to get away with making your own cake. I often make mine in a shape that ties in with the theme of the party. A friend of mine usually makes a basic (cake mix/canned icing) sheet cake and tops it with a toy related to the party theme; i.e., for her son's pirate party, she bought a little pirate toy set with plastic people, pirate ship, and treasure chest. This way, the child keeps the toys as a keepsake of the party, and even with a $15 toy, you end up saving money. Once I topped a sheet cake with blue (via food coloring) icing and toy sharks, with each guest getting a shark on his/her piece to take home, but I wouldn't recommend this for young children who may try to eat the decoration!
For one of my kids' sixth birthday, I bought a cake mold that was shaped like a car. (This was about ten years ago; I found it at the now defunct Bill's Drugs for about $5.) I made a chocolate cake from a mix (I'm no baker), and let my son frost and decorate it with M&M's, jelly beans, etc. to outline the windows, doors and wheels. It looked really cool in a funky kind of way, and as you can imagine, it was a lot of fun to do. My son felt very special, everyone enjoyed eating it and it sure didn't cost $50.
Definitely make your own if you're willing! I'm not a baker by any means, but for the last 2 bdays - 3 & 4 - I've rented a cake pan at Spun Sugar on University & made 2 fun cakes. Spun Sugar has everything & they're very kind to people who have no idea what they're doing. The first time I made a half sheet cake with 3 boxes of cake mix (it was quite full, but baked just fine - do not think about making your own cake from scratch, it's not worth it!!) then I made the frosting (this is very worth it & easy - get the recipe from Spun Sugar, and try to forget that frosting is made of only butter, veg. shortening & sugar) & created a construction scene on top w/a dirt (brown sugar mixed w/the frosting) road & hill & toy trucks & road signs (saw it in a catalogue of b-day stuff - we gave away the trucks on the cake pieces for party favors). It was all amazingly easy, really fun, and dirt cheap. Last year I rented the train pan (I think it took less than 2 (or 3? ask them) boxes of mix & I made cupcakes with the rest) & decorated w/little stars of homemade frosting in different colors. This took quite a bit longer than the first year's cake, but it was surprisingly simple. I bought one set of decorating tips that came w/disposable bags. (Hint - slice off the bump on top of the cake before you turn it out of the pan on a platter. After I decorated, a long crack appeared on the top bc the ends bent down.) I put the cupcakes above like puffs of smoke. One key is to use the special colors from the shop, and color the frosting the day before using a little color at a time. It becomes somewhat darker over time, and you don't need to use so much of the color. Keeps well in tupperware for at least a day. The half sheet cake had a ton left over, the train shape was basically all gone along w/the cupcakes, but it fed over 20 people. Cut the pieces small anyway - the concept is much more important than the amount. Have fun!
The first thing to remember is that kids don't judge cakes the same way as adults. So, most of the strengths of a $50 Toot Suits cake are completely lost on kids. The kind of cake that kids like has lots of cheezy decorations on top of icing. The number of layers, quality of the chocolate, virginity of the cream, and politics of the baker simply don't matter.
This said, the place that does the best kid cakes for the price, without a doubt, is CostCo. You can pre-order cakes with your favorite message or you can take your chances with whatever they have the day you're shopping.
Jon
P.S. Now, if I could only convince my wife that the CostCo pies are as good as FatApples for adults then I'll be saving at least $50/year.
I have always baked cakes from mixes for my sons. They don't like store bought cakes. I make one vanilla and one chocolate. I frost and then let them decorate the cakes. They come up with good ideas, like lego decorations or disney characters. They always rave about the cake because they had a helping hand! If you have leftover batter you can make cupcakes. They like that. I would prefer Virginia Bakery or Toots but kids seem to like the simpler things in life. Here's a tip: try Andronico's on Solano for day old cakes which are very good because they keep them refrigerated. I believe they come from the Toot's across the street and are discounted quite a bit. I also think Costco makes great cakes and they are cheap. Good Luck.
When I have needed a birthday cake for adults I have sometimes purchased one from Just Desserts or another of the better bakeries around Berkeley. However, for children, I have found that purchasing an expensive cake is definitely not worth it. Lots of kids don't particularly like cake, or they don't like frosting and I've ended up throwing most of it away, because they'll eat only a few bites. For the last few birthday parties I've just made a simple chocolate cake (on the back of the Hershey's cocoa can) with just a thin layer of frosting. The kids usually get a kick out of the homemade decorating -- with lots of tube frosting flowers. We also usually add sprinkles. And the kids love to help prepare their own cake. It adds a lot more time to the whole birthday party preparation, but I think it's worth it.
Good, large, cheap sheet cakes can be purchased at Costco.
I have found the best bakery for children's birthday cakes to be: The Virginia Bakery--located on Shattuck and Virginia, I believe (near Andronico's). I searched all over Berkeley and El Cerrito when we moved here last year. I must have searched and gone to at least 20 different bakeries-- french, gourmet, grocery stores, etc... They do an excellent job, the cakes are incredibly tasty, and they have several choices for decorations for children's themes, i.e. the Teletubbies, Disney characters, princess cakes, etc...Also, their prices are reasonable, around $30-35 for a cake which serves 10. They are very friendly as well.
You can get very nice-- and cheap birthday cakes at Costco. Also Lucky and Safeway have nice cakes for cheaper than toots sweets. Virginia Bakery too but they are also expensive. There are also several bakeries at the Pacific East Mall (old Breuners) in Albany -- off the Central Ave.exit.
I highly recommend the Berkeley Bakery on Solano (527-9616, ask for Harry). They are expensive, but the cakes use more natural ingredients and are less sweet. I opted to go for a slightly smaller cake (for my daughter's birthday party) that had fresh strawberries and an icing that wasn't cloyingly sweet. Everybody, including the adults, really liked it. (We're trying hard to cut down on the sugar my 3-year-old daughter is exposed to because she's already had 2 cavities!)
I know that Virginia Bakery also makes cakes that are very popular and less expensive, but when I've tasted them at parties, I've found them way too sweet, almost artificial- tasting. Of course, kids don't seem to mind that!
When it comes to children's birthday cakes, think ice cream instead of cake. In my experience, most children prefer ice cream and it's easier for a non-baker to deal with. We have purchased ice cream cakes from Baskin-Robbins and Ben & Jerry's which are quite good, but expensive. We bought a plain green loaf shape and added our own plastic figures on the top in keeping with the Ninja Turtle theme. Get the candle holder picks since it will be quite solid and hard to add candles. I made my own ice cream clowns by putting a round scoop of ice cream on a sturdy flat cookie (Lu maybe), adding M&M's for eyes, forcing icing through a garlic press for hair, and inverting a pointed cone on the top for the hat. I also made a doll cake by using a cone-shape mold pan designed for cake and filling it with ice cream instead. That became the skirt when turned over. Then I stuck in a purchased doll top and used icing for the bodice (ice cream didn't stick to the plastic body) and purchased candy flowers to decorate. My kids were able to help add the decorations to both projects, which they enjoyed more than any professionally done cake.
I know many people are unfamiliar with the new Pacific East Mall that jut opened a few months back in the Richmond/El Cerrito/Albany area just off Pierce. There are 3 places in that mall that sells good cakes. One is the Ranch 99 supermarket which has a special bakery section. Their cakes are pretty good and it's light and fluffy and not too sweet. They can put fruits in the middle, custard, buttercream, etc and decorate it. There's also the ShungKee Bakery and Cafe just across from the supermarket. They also have very good cakes. They can do everything Ranch 99 Supermarket can and more. Then there's also the Goldilock Bakery and Cafe. Their cakes are more pricey than the other two places but it's good. For adult birthdays and special people, we often get the cakes from them...
You can get rather large (and surprisingly good) sheet birthday cakes from Costco for -- I forget how much, but definitely less than $20. There is a choice of designs, and they will write on a Happy Birthday message for you.
To the parent seeking brithday cake suggestions: Price-Costco in El Cerrito off Central Avenue has large sheetcakes in various flavors readymade and takes special orders for custom decorated cakes with kid and adult themes. They are pretty tasty--nothing gourmet but better than Betty Crocker's and quite reasonable and huge (I can't remember exact sizes but they will feed a crowd).
one more idea: make a cake or cupcakes and frost, but don't decorate. Then let the kids do the decorating at the party, with shakers of sprinkles and some small candies (like m&ms). For 3 yrs and up...
Last updated: Feb 23, 2008
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