"Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself."
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Friday, May 15, 2009

Birthday cake for Foodie Friday!




I wanted to share picture of Connor's 11th birthday "cakes" for my first Foodie Friday...hosted by Gollum @ Designs by Gollum. Gollum is one of the most talented women I know. She's an accomplished authoress, decorator & foodie w/ a wonderful home & idyllic life. I could hate her for that but she's too nice. ;o)


Anyway, (putting my envy of Gollum aside) Connor put in a request for a big cookie cake for his birthday, several months ago. I found this recipe by Emeril & it turned out perfectly...thick & chewy while still managing to have a crispy exterior. I highly recommend the recipe! You'll have to excuse my piping job. I was running behind (of course I was!) & was piping Happy Birthday on it as the guests were arriving.




I didn't think there were would be enough cookie cake to feed all the guests & originally, was going to make cupcakes but when Connor let it be known that he wanted hamburgers to be served, I found this adorable "french fries" cake on parenting.com. It didn't really fool anybody as the "ketchup" wasn't red enough (my Wilton food coloring gel dried out so I had to use the liquid) but everyone loved it. Isn't it cute? I actually made 2 baskets of "fries".



French Fries Birthday Cake

Ingredients:
1 (8-inch) round cake
1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
Red food coloring
1 frozen pound cake (12 oz), thawed

What you'll need:
A bread knife
A sheet pan
A wax-paper-lined basket, bowl, or plate
1 resealable sandwich-size plastic bag (Ziploc)
1 mini-paper cupcake liner

For the base of the cake:
Using the bread knife, trim the 8-inch cake to fit into a wax-paper–lined basket, bowl, or plate.
Set aside 3 Tbsp of the vanilla frosting in a small bowl. Spread the remaining vanilla frosting over the trimmed cake to cover completely.

For the french fries:
Preheat broiler. Trim the darker crusts of the cake away with a bread knife. Cut the pound cake crosswise into ½-inch slices. Cut each slice into ½-inch-thick sticks. Spread the pound-cake sticks in a single layer on a sheet pan. Place under the broiler for 15 to 30 seconds until the tops are lightly toasted and golden brown. (Watch the pound cake carefully -- it burns easily. Turn the pound-cake sticks and repeat on each side until they are lightly toasted all over. Arrange the pound-cake sticks on top of the frosted cake to resemble french fries.

For the ketchup:
Add red food coloring to the reserved 3 Tbsp of vanilla frosting to tint it the color of ketchup ( I added a bit of flavored coffee creamer to add flavor & thin it out some so that the french fries wouldn't break when dipped). Spoon the red frosting into a resealable plastic bag. Place the mini–paper cupcake liner on top of the "french fries." Snip a small corner from the bag with the red frosting. Pipe the red frosting into the paper liner.

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Now I'm off to Gollum's to see all the other food & I'm bringing an appetite...won't you come w/ me?

16 comments:

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

french fry cake...how cute! Happy Foodie Friday! Have a great weekend ~ Susan

Anonymous said...

Those "french fries" are awesome! Such a clever idea, I love it!

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

I have never seen french fry cake. That's pretty nifty! I like the big cookie too.

When I was making that meatloaf I was wondering how it would look when photographed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the picture...I did do a little editing, though.

Thanks for coming by!

Joyce said...

Now that is a totally new one for me.
Joyce

The Quintessential Magpie said...

That would be the perfect cake for a pool party! And I love your cookie cake. Cute as can be! You are far more clever than I, Cami!

I had to improvise with pictures on mine (creating mental pictures) because we didn't photograph the trainwreck I described! LOL!

XO,

Sheila :-)

Katy ~ said...

That French fry cake is too doggone cute! I'm thinking ole Sweetie-Pi's grandsons would enjoy that. Can't wait to try it!

A Hint of Home said...

Sounds like he had a grand birthday! The recipes look great!

Terri Steffes said...

I believe that french fries should be its own food group so this cake really speaks to me!

The Bloom Girls said...

Your french fries cake is too adorable!

Nola

Kathleen said...

That's adorable! You must make the faux grilled cheese for dgs..grilled poundcake with icing tinted orange. It looks so real! I posted it on April's Fool for my blog..DH came home and thought I made him a sandwich! The kids would love it..
I have to try your fries on my gkids!:)

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Both of those cakes are so cute and so creative! The french fries are perfect! I'd love to try that some time. Thanks for sharing the directions. laurie

The Muse said...

LOL...LOL
This is just beyond NEAT!

Shelby said...

I think that french fry cake is amazing!

Linda said...

Vinty, I love the "french fries"--I was completely fooled!

Thanks for the cookie cake link--one of my son's favorite things.

Miss Janice said...

This is a def first! I've never seen a french fries cake! cute!

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

How cute is that French Fry Cake! Some people are just so clever! Cute!