happy birthday mom!

My mom turned 50 this month and to celebrate, I made a special giant cupcake (with the pan I have courtesy of the dynamic duo, Amber & Anthony). Mark helped a great deal and came to the rescue in a frosting emergency. What a guy.

(Dad turned 50 last month and his birthday dessert was a fruit tart, chronicled on Mark's blog, here.)

I made Magnolia white cake and then carved it down. If you use this type of pan, take note. The base needs to bake longer than the top. Put the batter in the base first and cook for 15 minutes, followed by the batter in the top half. You will save yourself the trouble of prying the top out when the bottom has yet to set. (This happened to us.)


I made whipped buttercream (cooked icing) because that's my mom's favorite, and colored it blue and purple. Mark filled in the gaps between the pieces. If you see him, tell him not to kill me for featuring a photo with him in it.


We (mostly Mark) cut fondant strips and attached pastel circle sprinkles to them, and then strategically placed them around the base so as to look like a cupcake we saw featured in a Wilton book. That one looked better but I guarantee ours trumped it in taste.


Pipe on a birthday message......


And add some sprinkles... (and the holes for candles)


Tra la! We proceeded to scarf most of the top part in 5 seconds. The base didn't last another 24 hours, I gather.