A Narwhal Birthday
It all started with indecision. Megan and I were shopping when she saw a display of stuffed animals. Two in particular caught her eye, an owl and a narwhal. She carried those two around hemming and hawing, weighing the advantages of purchasing one over the other. As we finished up our shopping, she reluctantly put the narwhal back on the shelf while explaining the reason she would adopt the owl.
As any smart mom would do (this was new to me), I went back to the store later in the week to secretly purchase the narwhal as a birthday gift for Megan. Then as luck would have it, a friend who owns a party store (has to be one of the best jobs ever) posted a photo of a narwhal balloon that she had added to her inventory. Voila! A narwhal themed birthday took root.
As a lazy mom might do (this is NOT new to me), I wondered what I could add by way of plates or napkins that might enhance the narwhal theme. Nothing which required too much work, mind you. I searched narwhal birthday ideas on Pinterest. Not a good idea people! I fell in love with the idea of baking narwhal cake. I even purchased fondant, which I've never used before!
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the cake task, I enlisted the help of my very handsome husband. Poor guy. We do work well together. By that I mean, he does all the work and I take photos for the blog. Ha, ha. That is mostly true.
The fondant directions told us to frost the cake first with buttercream frosting. To make it more fun, we colored the buttercream purple. We laid the ready-rolled fondant sheet (best lazy mom move ever) over the cake and began smoothing it. That is when a small crack started to appear at the top of what would be the narwhal's head. This we could not get to stop cracking and the purple buttercream frosting began to show underneath. That narwhal looked as if he cracked his head open and was bleeding purple. It was a warning sign.
As amateur bakers, we had no other choice but to cover the trauma with some white buttercream and cross our fingers. Then we added fondant eyes, cheeks, mouth and fins. Finish with some buttercream water and a lollipop tusk. Our little narwhal was ready.
As any smart mom would do (this was new to me), I went back to the store later in the week to secretly purchase the narwhal as a birthday gift for Megan. Then as luck would have it, a friend who owns a party store (has to be one of the best jobs ever) posted a photo of a narwhal balloon that she had added to her inventory. Voila! A narwhal themed birthday took root.
As a lazy mom might do (this is NOT new to me), I wondered what I could add by way of plates or napkins that might enhance the narwhal theme. Nothing which required too much work, mind you. I searched narwhal birthday ideas on Pinterest. Not a good idea people! I fell in love with the idea of baking narwhal cake. I even purchased fondant, which I've never used before!
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the cake task, I enlisted the help of my very handsome husband. Poor guy. We do work well together. By that I mean, he does all the work and I take photos for the blog. Ha, ha. That is mostly true.
The fondant directions told us to frost the cake first with buttercream frosting. To make it more fun, we colored the buttercream purple. We laid the ready-rolled fondant sheet (best lazy mom move ever) over the cake and began smoothing it. That is when a small crack started to appear at the top of what would be the narwhal's head. This we could not get to stop cracking and the purple buttercream frosting began to show underneath. That narwhal looked as if he cracked his head open and was bleeding purple. It was a warning sign.
As amateur bakers, we had no other choice but to cover the trauma with some white buttercream and cross our fingers. Then we added fondant eyes, cheeks, mouth and fins. Finish with some buttercream water and a lollipop tusk. Our little narwhal was ready.
We celebrated the birthday girl all day doing all the things she wanted to do. It was now time to sing, blow out the candles and cut the cake.
I just want to say, the toothpick came out clean. It really did! However, upon cutting the cake, we realized why the fondant was cracking atop the narwhal's head. The cake didn't exactly thoroughly bake on the inside. We tried to eat just the sides, but they too were a bit dense and not great. Thankfully, pre-packaged ice cream treats saved the day.
Even though the cake was a flop, it wasn't the focus of the day anyway. Megan officially turned 12! I still cannot believe it. She is very much a breath of fresh air and a ray of sunshine sandwiched in between the boys. She is generous and tenderhearted. A book loving, baking, sewing, artist who mothers her brothers and has a great sense of humor and a cute little giggle. She can also wield a light saber and fire a squirt gun when called to battle with her brothers.
Happy birthday sweet girl! It's a privilege to be your mom.
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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I always enjoy hearing from you. ~Kim