Penguin Baby Shower Cake

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

First, I must say that I am by no means an expert at making a cake. I am learning and this cake does have errors. I learned by seeing mistakes in the final product.

My son was having a baby, now born and almost a month old name Elizabeth Rose Thomas, and he loves penguins. So by request he wanted a penguin cake. Now, how was I going to do that I wondered? I didn’t want to just go with a sheet cake – this is my grandbaby we are talking about. I had to do something 3-D. So my investigation on how to create it started.

I found a website that shows different cakes made from the Wilton teddy bear stand up pan. I had access to one of these and decided it was going to work. With a little cutting of the cake it could work – I hoped!

I decided to use the cake lying on its back like a baby on an iceberg. So I would have to use Wilton pans that were the circles and ten inches and two inches deep. I would need two of these at two inches high each to give me room to cut the cake to form the iceberg. I would also need to make the teddy bear cake and that would need some cuts as well.

I used a cake stand I had already had and covered it with foil. I added a scoop of icing on top to help the cake not slide. I added the one layer and then covered the top with a thick layer of buttercream icing. I put the other layer on top of that and pushed down slightly. I then carved the cake to be a half dome but with the top having a bit of a more flattened side so the penguin could sit on top. I iced this using white buttercream icing with an icing bag that I wiped several variations of blue onto the inside of the bag so that when the icing came out the white icing has blue hues to it. I didn’t want it to be all white or all blue. Icebergs have a natural blue and sometimes green hue to them. It came out really nice.

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

I then made the teddy bear cake to directions. I carved off the ears and a bit of the snout. I also cut down the back so it had a flat surface so it would rest evenly on top of the iceberg. I placed the penguin cake down on top of the already iced ice berg. I immediately added thin wooden dowels through the feet, arms, head and belly. I pushed them all the way to the cake board. I then trimmed them to the level with the cake.

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

I then used yellow icing and a wide star tip to cover the feet and beak. I mention wide because I would uses a smaller tip next time. I iced the white belly. I iced the purple (which came out really darker then I wanted but made the mistake of tinting too much icing and wasn’t going to remake it). I then added the eyes which again came out darker than planned. I piped a border around the bottom of ice berg and border around the area where the penguin joined the ice berg. I added candies to the bottom border and to the eyes. Used a nice little cake decorating set I found that has bags and tips and everything you need to decorate this cake.

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

©Jeffrey Scott Thomas – 2019

To top it off I used a little pink fabric bow that is just hand made to add to the top to give it a bit more of a girl appearance since the purple icing came out darker than planned and looked more like a boy. I then wish I had sprinkled iridescent edible glitter on top to give a sparkling finish.

 

*****WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM ICING *****

10 MINS * MAKES 2 3/4 CUPS
Creamy, sweet, and perfect for any treat, you’ll want to make this frosting for all of your favorite cakes.
Ingredients:
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened 12 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

In a Kitchenaid mixer (or one like it or a hand mixer can do with a little extra attention to making sure it has no lumps) beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the melted white chocolate. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat at low speed, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy.

 

*****CAKE MIX*****                                                                                                                              I used box Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake (Chocolate) and Strawberry and followed directions.

Awesome Long-Distance Birthday Ideas

It doesn’t matter if it’s your partner, sibling, parent, child, or simply your BFF, being separated by distance is always hard. It can make you very jealous of people who get to see each other all the time. But birthdays can be the toughest of all. You want to make them feel extra special and loved, but you are there.

Birthday Party in A Box

If you can’t be there in-person to throw a birthday party, send them one in a box. You can DIY this. It is a super fun surprise, complete with card, balloons, confetti, sweet treat, and a personal note from you.

Best of all, most of the work is done by you.

Make a Video

Record yourself singing or saying happy birthday. You can send it privately, or make a public declaration of those long-distance birthday wishes on Facebook or even YouTube.

You can also make a cute montage. There are a lot of sites that allow you to easily create a video montage from friends and family and make their birthday even more special.

Send a Smile-a-Day

Glass jar with colored notes with blur and toning

Sending someone you love a whole bunch of open when notes is a great idea. Notes are a long-distance relationship gift that keeps giving for weeks.

But if you want to take it up a level, and get crafty, fill a glass jar or tin with personal notes, and customize the colours, trim, and package it cute. It will be gorgeous and personal. You can’t go wrong with it.

Throw a Virtual Birthday Surprise Party

Use Skype or Facetime or any kind of app like that, to connect friends from different locations to host a virtual party.

Make it even more fun by a party horn, and a hat to all those included in on the birthday surprise.

Advent Calendar

You’re probably used to advent calendars for Christmas, but what about making one that counts down to a birthday. Whether beautifully handmade or store-bought and re-done there are some lovely designs ideas out there.

The hard part is getting it done and sending it a month in advance.

Send Balloons and Flowers

Get balloons filled with helium, find the perfect flowers arrangement, and put them in a large box. You need to find a company that can safely send flowers overseas, so they are still intact when the birthday person opens the box.

Unfortunately, latex balloons stay afloat for a very short time with helium, so perhaps try Mylar balloons if you are sending in the mail.

Take Them on an Online Shopping Spree

Everyone enjoys online shopping. You can use all the different sites and apps to surf the web with someone anywhere else in the world. Surf some fun shops together and have a great time.

Let them pick a fun gift, your treat.

Even if you don’t end up purchasing a lot of things, you will find lots of fun items to laugh about.

Map Art of a Special Place

The most meaningful gifts are usually personal, so whether you get crafty yourself or let a professional artisan handle it, a map of a place full of shared memories is a beautiful and creative way to say that you are thinking of them.

Telegram Them

Even though email is awesome, but once in a while, it’s fun to do things the old-fashioned way. When it comes to communication you can’t get much more old-fashioned than sending a telegram.

Telegram stop charges one flat rate to send a telegram anywhere in the world, so it won’t be expensive.

Send a Birthday Countdown

Send a whole week of envelopes or small boxes leading up to the big day.

Label each envelope or box with which day to open each one. Put in a fun note, memory, photo, or treat in each one up to their birthday.

Whatever you choose to do, sending long-distance birthday gifts to your loved ones will most definitely make them smile.

A Sentimental Scent

Neurologists say that smell is linked with memory more so than any of our other senses, so try and find a scent that reminds you of a place that you were at together. Gift the feeling of cuddling up at home together in the scientifically-proven best way possible.

A Ticket To Meet

When you’re in a long-distance relationship, time together is the best present you can gift. Travel to see each other is a must, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a present too. Consider buying a ticket for the person to come and see you, or the other way around.

Use Happy Pictures

Remembering the good times you’ve had makes you happier. If you’ve got photos of the two of you having fun, why not pull some of these together to create a highlight reel of happy memories.

You can do this the old-fashioned way with photos and a glue-stick. Find the perfect photo album and make start putting it together.

If a photo book is not your thing, think about buying them an electronic photo frame and loading it up with happy pictures.

A Special Cut Out Card

Store-bought cards are so boring and not personal. Make your cut out the card and truly express your feelings to the person you are making it for. Make their day by sending them your very own handmade and beautiful card with a unique message from your heart. It is guaranteed that they will appreciate the effort you put in and they do not need to know how easy it was to make.

Because wooing them in real life isn’t an option it that moment, these are the things to offer makeshift dates, cuddles, and more to let your people know that they’re always on your mind. Some are mushy gifts and some are more on the practical side, depending on if you need to up the romance or simply make their life easier, but no matter what you send them, they will be thankful for it beyond words.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Penguins

Dip the top pointed tip and back of a strawberry with melted chocolate. Before chocolate sets add candy eyes and insert yellow M&M’s sideways into strawberry making sure the top part of the nose gets pushed into the melted chocolate. It will make sure the nose stays on. Leave the stem on which becomes the feet and also helps this guy stand up. If you want to remove the stem did the top (feet end) of the strawberry into melted chocolate and push down on wax paper. This will create a flat area for the strawberry to sit without falling over.

Movie Trolls – Cupcake Poppy Cake

What an awesome idea for those who have a little one who absolutely loves Poppy from the movie Trolls. Lay cupcakes as shown. A 8 inch diameter cake pan was used for the face. Here fondant is used on two cupcakes (ears) and for the 8 inch diameter cake used for the face. I am not a fondant lover so I would use buttercream icing for the face, eyes, nose, band and flowers. The hair was done with buttercream. Makes an awesome cake and easy to divide up for all the little (and big) kids at the party.

‘Ice Cream’ Party Favors Made From Cotton Candy

You can get cotton candy from almost anywhere from Walmart to your local drug store. Just stuff cotton candy into ice cream cones and make it look like a scoop at the top. Package with cellophane bags and tie with cord or ribbon.