Memory Cookies and Cakes Galore

We recently celebrated Parkers fourth birthday here at our home.

I made this dessert table which I put about 20+ hours of work into.  And then totally forgot to take a picture of it all set up outside.  

Me.  Who takes anywhere from 200 to 1000 pictures per event simply because I like to, totally FORGOT to take pictures of the dessert table that I slaved over for 24 hours straight.

I cried.

I complained.  I prayed to God to magically make some pictures appear.

I cried some more.

Needless to say, all I have to show for my dessert table in that one stupid picture.

I did get a few shots before the event of specific items... so not all is lost, but I wanted my money shot.  My, "Look at what I did mom!" shot.

Totally didnt happen.

When I complained for the zillionth time to my husband he said, "Did your newly four year old son enjoy the party?"

Um, point taken.

Its all not about me.  

Moving on.

The table above not only represents the cake I made for Parkers birthday celebration but a few other big events.

Cousin Inga celebrated her fifth birthday a week prior.  

I made her a giant devils food  cupcake with pink buttercream frosting.

The second cake in is a mini pistachio cake with cream cheese frosting.

It had cookie on a stick decorations that say, "Happy Anniversary Ryan and Elizabeth" who are celebrating their first anniversary this week!

There are also chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream frosting.

I also made "Memory Cookies" for the kids.

The idea behind it was if the child picked one cookie, they got to find its match... and have two!

I just a few out at a time to make it a little easier.

And finally was Parkers cake.

This is a six layer cake.  The candyland inspired candy road is made out of buttercream fondant, and actually tastes not too bad.  

I cut out the little rainbow colored squares the day before to let them stiffen up a bit, then the morning of the party (and I am not kidding, it was around 6:00am) I started trimming and placing the pieces on the cake.  It went so quickly and smoothly I recommend this technique to any mom with young ones!  

The top has gummy worms, gumdrops, and jelly beans.  The base is lined with M&M's.

And the inside...

... was rainbow.  

Parker has been asking for a rainbow cake ever since I made one for my Fox appearance last December.  Which is a long time ago!  

He really, really loved it.  Which made me really really happy!   

I am revealing the party and all its components over on my main blog, i am mommy, if you want to catch a glimpse of the big day!

 

Comments

[Jessica @ How Sweet]

What a fun, colorful party! I know I would have gone nuts over that stuff when I was a kid.

[Paula]

I love the idea of the memory cookies. Ingenious of you and what fun for the kids. Parker is one lucky little 4 year old! That bday cake is wonderful (huge...but wonderful)and I love how everything is primary colour matching. You did a super job mommie!

[Jessica]

I love rainbow cakes! They are so awesome, bright, and make me happy (that's the most important aspect, right?).
Great celebrations and desserts!

[TidyMom]

ALL of it looks AMAZING Amanda!!.........LOVE the bright colors on those cupcakes!!

[meaghan (chic cookies)]

perfect brightness!!

[libby]

how awesome!! i love his cake. It looks amazing! he is very lucky to have such a talented mother. Anxious to see the rest of the party pics. :)

[Renee]

You did a great job! So colorful. Happy Birthday Parker

[Jamie @ Six Bricks High]

AMAZING! I love everything! You are so creative!!! How lucky is your little guy to have a mom like you!

[Becki D]

Parker and his friends must think he has the coolest Mom, ever, just based on the rainbow cake. So awesome!

The Memory cookies were also a great idea! Did it work - did the little monkeys take the time to match them up?

Pistachio cake with cream cheese frosting? I'll take one of those, please! :-)

What an awesome party for your little man....hubby is right, fancy set-up shot or not, I think you made some amazing memories for your family!

[Amanda Daybyday]

I totally know what you mean about being sad about the pictures. I made a cake for my niece this weekend. I took pictures, but am pretty sure I hate them (haven't even downloaded them yet) and so don't even want to post them... even though the cake turned out pretty well. Something about having a great shot of your work to make the work feel good.

Having said that - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the dessert table. And the colors. Gorgeous.

P.S. I used buttercream fondant on my cake too. Wonder if we used the same recipe. :)

[Margaret in Minnesota]

You are something else, Amanda, and that's all I have to say about that.

(Well, I could say a TON more but you know. Domestic obligations call.)

Love from your former teacher,

Mrs. B.

(who was Miss E. at the time)

[Jenny]

Oh! The inside! I mean, I remember your other one, but it's always such a surprise! The colors are so vivid. Lovely.

[angien24]

Wow! What a great idea for a party. I love your candy land cake and all of the other ideas as well. SO nice to celebrate the other special moments in your family as well. You did an amazing job. OH, I think I'm a lot like you and my husband has that special way of putting things into perspective for me too. (wink)

[Gwendolyn]

Do you share the whipped frosting recipe for the cupcakes? They look so yummy.

[Julie @ Willow Bird Baking]

What gorgeous, colorful desserts! And don't worry, you can cry here -- we food bloggers share your heartbreak at the missing pictures and are happy to provide a crying shoulder! You did get wonderful pictures of each dessert, though, and we can imagine the fun outside :)

[ABananas]

OMG! Love the rainbow cake. Does that mean I have the taste of a 4 year old?

[Eliana]

You are so incredibly talented. All of this looks so amazing.

[smgoodie]

Oh how good the rainbow cake looks and all of the other goodies. Wish I was 4 years old. Then I could have my cake and eat it too. Currently I'm 4+ many more. And can only look at the cake, not eat it.
Thanks for sharing. I have not gained an ounce.

[BJ_Mama]

AWESOME! The candyland theme is so much fun!

[Alicia]

Spectactular...gorgeous...awesome!!!!!!

[Kari]

Love, love, love the cake! Great job!

[aimee]

Best. Mom. EVER! That is the best theme for a kid's party - you did such an amazing job putting it all together - your table is so bright, and that cake! SO cute!!

[Kari]

I was going to leave a comment on the other post, but there's no place as far as I can tell to leave comments. :) We did a candyland party for Alex's 5th birthday and it was a blast. I am not so handy in the kitchen, so we didn't have all the fancy desserts that you did. BUT... we did make a lifesize candyland board and played a gigantic game of candyland. We used construction paper for the walkway and we had friends dress as King Candy and Queen Frostine. Such fun. :) The kids all wore different colored t-shirts that I had painted gingerbread men on. They marched along the paths to music and we played all sorts of different "candy" games. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[BethieofVA]

I so dig that rainbow cake! My birthday is in October. Wink, wink, nod,nod. I have wanted to make a road trip to MN, since the hubby is from there. LOL!

[Amalia Standard]

Oh.... I adore the Memory cookies idea...and absolutely love love the candyland inspired cake. You little guy is one lucky 4 year old....I bet he loved all those colors!!!!! I can't wait to hop on over to your other blog to see the party details!!! Amazing...and hope your little one had a wonderful day!!!!

[Christina]

Super Cute, I bet he did love it! You are one talented Momma!

[Lauren @ Crave. Indulge. Satisfy.]

Great dessert table! Love the candy land cake, I'm sure Parker was so excited when you cut it and he saw the rainbow layers inside! Sorry you weren't able to get a shot of the final table, I'm sure it was stunning!

[Sue]

Awesome to the nth degree!

[Themamabearshouse.blogspot.com]

Oh. My. Goodness!

Amanda that cake is breathtaking!

Well done SuperMama!!

[mindy]

GORGEOUS!! I have a feeling, that if I show my girls this, they will want the exact same theme for both of their up-coming birthdays. So cute!!

[sunflowers8]

un bellissimo party sei proprio una supermamma! A settembre la mia piccola farà 3 anni, sarò felice di fare la tua torta arcobaleno!
Sonia

[Amy K]

It definitely looks like you put all that time & more into it. Super sweet - love it all. Sorry about the pics!

Blessings...

[Courtney]

Huge fan of your rainbow cakes! Love how they are so colorful.
Great job :)

[Alyssa]

Amazing! As always! Can't wait to see the whole party!

[bridget {bake at 350}]

Oh, well aren't you the best mom EVER!!! Even if you *did* for forget to take a zillion pictures! Why is it with our OWN parties and treats, we forget to take pictures? LOVE the CandyLand theme!

And buttercream fondant? Do tell!

[grace]

color, color everywhere! i love the barrage of hues, amanda--beautiful work!

[Lexi]

I love the idea of colour for a four year old. Buttercream Fondant....like I have said before. You are amazing.

[Londa]

What a fun colorful party! I think your rainbow cake is on my list of 100 things I need to bake before my kids grow up! It's so cute!!!
The memory card cookies...you're just a genius! That's all I can say! I'm going to make a match for all my cookies from now on so I can justify eating them 2 at a time! :)
We heart Candyland at our house--it is a great theme for birthday parties! :) Happy Birthday Parker!!!

[denise]

i love all the bright colors...i so hear you on focusing on the photos trying to "capture" these moments and being reminded the day is about our children...i know you strike this balance much better than your post depicts but i chuckled along with your clever humorous writing totally FEELING you...i'm so borrowing the "guest book" for the party idea...what a great way to capture who came and their thoughts the day of...my daughter is off to kindergarten in less than 2 weeks and i'm working so hard to "capture" her life as it is before i have to share her (i've been involved in every baby step of her life as a stay-at-home mom until now)...i return to your blog again and again because you are so balanced even as you describe your foibles...we love you! wish we could have joined the party and hope to have our children play and you and i chat some day in person...

[Jeanine]

Hi...it's Jeanine over at peaceFULLYsimple. We have birthdays coming up in October and December at our house and OH HOW I WISH you could make the birthday cakes for my kids. Probably a little hard to ship...and keep intact...huh? The rainbow cake is awesome! What a fun surprise inside and beautifully decorated cake. Hope your son had a blast celebrating being four!
Peace and blessings to your day!
Jeanine

[Samantha]

Amazing cake. The theme is brilliant and if it tastes the way it looks, well, you can come bake for me any time!

[Kate]

That cake looked AWESOME!

And I need to discuss the frosting you put on the cupcakes. Stat.

[Laura]

So cute! Love the little memory cookies and the rainbow cake!

[Natasha]

Wow!! I totally gasped when I saw the inside of the cake. Genius and super cute!!

[Jessica]

Love these cakes! So unique and interesting. Glad that Parker had a great birthday. My little boy, Danny, is turning 4 in September. I think his eyes would grow really huge if he saw a cake like this!

[Michelle Andrews]

You are so amazingly talented!

[janis]

Okay - so I have now read up on your blog and think I am current - as a result I'm wondering how much you charge for total party planning? lol I have one coming up in November and one in December! :) Can I hit you up? :)

You're amazing!

[Becca]

I marvel at one thing everytime (besides your obvious gifts used all over your site). I marvel at how you get your cakes to cut so neatly for your pictures! what's your secret?!

[the urban baker]

you are amazing, scary-good! you need to start doing video tutorials! put on u-tube, upload so the universe can see how talented you are!!!! i am making one of these...it won't look like this, but will taste good! xx

[Casey]

Oh my goodness! I'm going to have a favourite colour party for my little girl and this masterpiece shall be the cake! Erm... I'm dreaming that it will look as awesome as yours.
I have made mention of your genius on my blog also with a link back. Naturally!