Cake of the Month - Spencer's Birthday

Okay, I know I solicited ideas last month for my very last cake of the month. But then I remembered that I had two birthday cakes to make for December. Plus I didn't feel all that hot and cake-makey-like. So there you go.

Spencer has become a very particular child. But only about some things. Clothing, bathing, brushing teeth - he becomes very vague. ("Did you brush your teeth?" "Ummm.... yeah. Maybe.") But ask him about his birthday cake and he tells you exactly what he wants.

Me: Spencer, what kind of birthday cake do you want?

Spencer: A robot cake. A lemon robot cake.

Me: You want the cake to look like a robot?

Spencer: No, I want the robot made of frosting. And blueberries.

Me: Wha...? A frosting robot. Oh, do you mean you want me to make a robot out of frosting and put it on the cake?

Spencer: No! I want the robot on the cake. With blueberries around it.

Me: Okaaayyy... do you want me to draw the robot, with frosting, on the cake?

Spencer: Yes.

Me: And you want me to outline it with blueberries.

Spencer: Yes.

Me: What color should the robot be?

Spencer: Gray.

Me: Um, I don't think I can make or eat gray frosting. How about blue to match the blueberries.

Spencer: Okay. And I don't want a round cake. I want a square cake.

Me: Roger that.

Spencer: My name is Spencer.

Me: Oh yeah.

So, there you go. He wanted me to draw a robot. With frosting. And outline it with blueberries. ME. Has the child ever seen me draw with frosting before? No. And there's a reason for that.

But, it was his fifth birthday, and I couldn't let him down. At least, not without trying my best. (My best to succeed, not to let him down. Oh, never mind.)

First things first. I had to make the cake. A lemon cake. I figured since it was just for our family I'd just use a mix.

The afternoon of Spencer's birthday came. I went to the cupboard. No lemon cake mix.

Dang. It.

So I improvised, adding some lemon juice and orange extract to a vanilla cake mix. It looked like lemon cake.

It baked beautifully - nice and even. Then I decided I should at least have a rough draft of a robot before I continued. This is what I came up with.

Ouch. Hey, I never claimed to be an artist. Especially in the robot genre.

The cake was cooled. It was time to get to work. First, I made some lemon buttercream frosting. I topped the cake with white. Then I traced a robot design with a toothpick.

Next I added blue food coloring to the rest of the frosting. (There was actually A LOT of frosting, so if you live nearby and need some blue-lemon frosting, I'm your source.)

It was the moment of truth. I got to work. This is what I accomplished.

Okay, not bad! I mean, I was pretty sure it would at least impress a five year old. Especially because the number 5 was on the robot. (Kids like that sort of thing, right?)

I didn't think it would look good with blueberries outlining the robot, so I did this on the sides.

Then I added the blueberries.

Behold! Exactly what Spencer asked for.

And he loved it. And he ate exactly one piece, relishing the robotness of it all.

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Thus ends my cake of the month chronicles. Done. Sure, I'm not a master cake maker, but that wasn't really my goal. I just wanted to become better than I was, and I think I have. I even learned a few tricks along the way. (The magic of parchment paper, for one.)

It's time to decide what food I should tackle in 2009. Be sure to cast your vote on my poll on the left sidebar and let me know what you think!