Dora, Boots and Cookie Monster

One of the nice things about doing birthday cakes for children is character cakes because it's a lot of fun and so colorful. The characters are recognizable and the cake can really bring the decorations and theme together. And let's face it - the most popular thing about birthday parties is the cake so it might as well be front and center :)

Here are two examples of children's birthday cakes that I did in the last year.

Dora & Boots

This was a dense but sweet German chocolate cake and two layers thick. I kept the frosting simple using traditional wedding cake icing flavored almond and cherry. The Boots character, name and number where covered in fondant icing and then decorated with the colored frosting. Dora is in cocoa wedding cake icing.

Cookie Monster

I don't remember too much about this cake because it was from earlier this year but as you can see, his eyes are done with Oreo's and he's got American-style chocolate chip cookies all around him. I also used Oreo cookie crumbs for his mouth. The nice thing about this cake is that if there are any Moms in the room watching their weight - they can simply eat a cookie - not the slice of cake. Although from my memory - I believe everyone ate some of this cake. We even served it with blue colored ice cream. Although, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream would have been more appropriate for Cookie Monster - you know how 3 year olds are - they love blue ice cream.

Cake Balls

There was plenty of cake and frosting leftover from the Dora & Boots cake so I could make some yummy cake balls to go with it - piled high in a separate bowl for the adults to chow down on. Cake balls are a lot like truffels. They are very easy to make and taste delicious. I could really get creative making cake balls. There are so many combinations - from the cake used to the frosting and dipped in white, dark or milk chocolate. I can also sprinkle them with chopped nuts, chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles or just about anything. They can also be flavored a number of different ways. The combinations are endless. These are a real treat and a great accompaniment to any themed cake. These are so good in fact that my husband requested only cake balls for his next birthday!