Minecraft Birthday Cakes

It was my eldest son's birthday last month. He turned 9. As usual, I always ask the birthday boy about his birthday theme. And this time, he chose Minecraft. It is no brainer actually since he really loves this game so much and plays together with his little brother.

So I started my research in the internet, and got some great ideas. I had to make 30 cupcakes for his teacher and classmates. 
I found that the White Almond Sour Cream (WASC) Cake recipe is the best to my liking and so easy to make. You may find the recipe here.
And for the fondant, I made marshmallow fondant, and here is the recipe :

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe
source : Angelfoods.net

Ingredients :
400 gm marshmallows (white for white fondant)
4 tbsp water
800 gr icing sugar
copha, melted

Method : 
1. Place marshmallows in a large microwavable bowl.  
2. Pour water over the marshmallows.
3. Microwave for 1-2 minutes.  
4. Stir until the marshmallows are melted.
5. Stir through 600 gr icing sugar.
6. Pour melted copha (about 4 tbsp) onto your work bench.
7. Put 200 gr icing sugar on the copha and pour the melted marshmallows onto the icing sugar.  
8. Start kneading the marshmallow, incorporating the remaining icing sugar. 
9. Add more icing sugar if it is too soft.
10. Knead for approx 10 minutes until the end result is not sticky anymore.


notes : This recipe makes 1.2 kg of fondant.

And for the birthday cake, I still used the WASC recipe. But this time, I used the chocolate flavour cake mix and replaced the sour cream with plain yogurt, and it tasted so divine!

Skylanders Themed Birthday Cake

My youngest son turned 6 and because he is really into skylanders lately, I made skylanders themed cake for his birthday.
For his teachers and classmates, I planned to give out some cupcakes so that it was easier for the teachers to distribute them and they are mess-free. I did some research in the internet and found templates for 8 elements in skylanders. They are  Magic, Earth, Water, Fire, Tech, Un-dead, Life and Air.
The cupcakes are white almond sour cream cake (WASC) with marshmallow fondant icing.

And for the birthday party, I made a skylanders portal from WASC cake with marshmallow fondant icing. To make it even special, I ordered edible image with skylanders themed (of course) and his photo on it. Not to forget, the eight elements to go around the portal.
To see his reaction when he found out that there was his photo on the birthday cake was priceless!

Here I share the WASC recipe. This cake is so moist and easy to make. Perfect to go with fondant icing.

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (WASC)

originally created by Rebecca Sutterby

Ingredients :

2 boxes white cake mix

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar (I reduced the sugar into 1 cup because it was too sweet for me)

1 1/2 teas. salt 

8 egg whites

2 2/3 cups water

4 Tbls. vegetable oil

2 cups (16oz carton) sour cream

2 teaspoon clear vanilla flavor

2 teaspoons almond extract

Instructions :

Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees

* Notes :

- One recipe makes: one 14″ round + one 6″ round

or one 16″ round or one 12″ round + one 10″ round or one 12×18″ sheet cake or one 12″ round + one 8″ round + one 6″

- Half a recipe makes: two 8″ rounds or two 6″ rounds + 6 cupcakes

For the marshmallow fondant, You can find the recipe and video tutorial here.

And also for his birthday bento, I used some birthday decoration from All Things For Sale, here is the link :

Inside the box, I prepared :

1. Ham and cheese mini croissant

2. Corn on the cob

3. Fish drumstick ( recipe here)

4. Quail eggs with salt and pepper

5. Strawberry yogurt for recess

My Singing Monsters

There is one Android game called "My Singing Monsters" that my kids love so much. It has super cute monsters that really can sing in harmony. In spite of more than 30 cute monsters in that game, I only featured two of them, called Furcorn and Toe Jammer.

I also made Zucchini and Parmesan Balls that taste fantastic!. Here is the recipe :

Zucchini and Parmesan Balls
source Stay at Home Mum

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis, grated
125 grams pickled onion cheese or any strong crumbly cheese
1/2 cup flour
2 pcs rashes bacon
1 egg
20 grams parmesan cheese, finely grated
50 grams parmesan cheese, for coating
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup oil, for frying

Method :
* Mix grated zucchinis, pickled onion cheese, flour, egg and parmesan cheese together until just combined. They will be quiet moist this is ok, it’s perfect for the crumbs and keeps them nice and moist while cooking.

* Place breadcrumbs and extra parmesan cheese in a bowl. Spoon a small tablespoon of mix and drop into crumb mix, toss and coat well. Set aside on baking paper.

* Heat oil in small wok and cook in batches over a high heat. They will only take about a minute each side to cook and be golden brown. Drain on paper towel. If you have a deep fryer you can always use this on 190 oC.

Recipe Hints and Tips:
Zucchini and Parmesan Balls are suitable for freezing for up to 6 months. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

Details as below :

For my Year 3 son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese scroll with Furcorn on top (eggsheet, nori, crabstick, breadcrust)
2. Zucchini and Parmesan Balls
3. Broccoli
4. Halves hard boiled egg with salt and pepper
5. Milk jelly with nata de coco
6. Rockmelon cuts for recess

For my Pre-primary son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese scroll with Toe Jammer on top (eggsheet, crabstick, nori)
2. Zucchini and Parmesan Balls
3. Carrot sticks
4. Hard boiled egg with nori
5. Milk jelly with nata de coco
6. Banana for recess

Bento tools I used for this post :

Om Nom from Cut the Rope and the Garden Snail

One of my favourite bento because it's so pretty and colourful. Details as below :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. "Garden snail" sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich with mushroom made of eggsheet and bread crusts, snail made of eggsheet, carrot, nori, and black sesame seed, and Granny Smith apple cuts for grass)
2. Sea shell shaped milk jelly
3. Broccoli
4. Hard boiled egg with carrot "flower" on top

For my little one, since he loves Om Nom (from Cut the Rope game) so much, I prepared :
1. "Om Nom" sandwich (strawberry jam sandwich with Om Nom made out of Granny Smith apple, egg sheet, nori, and black sesame seed)
2. Car-shaped milk jelly
3. Halves hard boiled egg
4. Sausages

Similar tools I used for this post :

Moshi Monster Croissants

Details as below :

For my year 2 son, I prepared :
1. Ham & cheese croissant
2. Hard boiled egg with "flower" carrot
3. Broccoli

For my kindy son, I prepared :
1. "Moshi monster" ham & cheese croissant
2. Hard boiled egg
3. Bulla strawberry yogurt
4. Carrot sticks

Angry Birds Birthday Cake

It's been a hectic week for me since I was preparing my son's birthday party. Would love to share this Angry Birds birthday Cake. Special request from my son because he loves playing Angry birds so much and I really had fun in making it. It was just like playing with playdough :p

Top view

Front view

Inside, there was a surprise battenberg checker pattern. It was time consuming, but totally worth it!

This is how to make it : http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2852685/peekaboo-battenberg-cake

Ninjago and Cloud Baby

Inspired by Ninjago from Lego games and Cloudbabies from ABC2 TV channel.
Details as below :

I can't help loving this cute cloud baby when I accompany my kids watching this new TV program - Cloudbabies - as the picture quality & creativity are so good.
In this bento (for my little one) I prepared :
1. Cloud baby mini croissant (ham & cheese croissant, eggsheet, and nori)
2. Salmon nuggets (with grated carrot in it)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Mandarin & grapes
5. Carrot flower and leak leaf as divider

For my eldest son, Ninjago is the best :) It consists of :
1. Kai - Ninjago sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich, eggsheet, nori, and bread crust)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Salmon nuggets (with grated carrot in it)
4. Halves boiled egg
5. Broccoli

Android and Om Nom

Today's themes are Android symbol and Om Nom from my kids favourite game : Cut the Rope.
Details as below :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Android sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich, with eggsheet and nori on top)
2. Grapes
3. Salmon nuggets
4. Corn on the cob
5. Hard boiled egg
6. Broccoli and carrot flower

For my little one, I prepared :
1. Om Nom sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich, with eggsheet, nori, and black sesame seed)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Salmon nuggets with ketchup
4. Mandarin