Our recently turned three year old (eek – hold me!) is just a little bit obsessed by fire engines and fire fighters, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when he requested a ‘Jupiter’ (aka fire engine for those non Fireman Sam fans out there) cake for his birthday.
Based on his cake request, we decided to have a Fire Fighter Birthday Party and invited a couple of his friends and some family over for morning tea and a play. I had spent loads a little time on Pintrest looking for ideas for some easy food and decorating ideas but it was a couple of weeks before his party when I hit the Jackpot and discovered Fire Fighter helmets at our local discount store. These ‘helmets’ were a hit with the kids, and they also looked great sitting on the table below the crepe paper ‘flames’.
Trying to come up with ‘fire’ themed food ideas was really hard, so I stuck with a general theme of red, orange and yellow food – with a few healthy options thrown in of course!
Clockwise from top left: Hawaiian Pizza Scrolls, Chicken and Salad Rice Paper Rolls, Mixed Sandwiches, Vanilla Cupcakes, Fiery Fruit (Watermelon, Rockmelon and Pineapple), Scones, Jelly Slice with Strawberries and Sausage Rolls.
Without a doubt the highlight of the morning was the cake and let’s be honest, birthdays are ALL ABOUT THE CAKE! I was a little worried about using fondant and ganache due to the crazy humidity we have here in Brisbane, but figured I’d start the cake a few days in advance and just hope for the best. The cake itself was easy, I used my go to chocolate mud cake recipe and made two long rectangular cakes.
I then used just a couple of the fire trucks we have lying around as inspiration when cutting and assembling the cooled cakes. When it came time to ganache my cake, true to form, the weather was ridiculously hot and humid (who has January babies?!?!) and even with the air conditioner cranking the cake still needed to spend time in the fridge during the process to help firm it up.
After several attempts at propping up the cake and using almost one kilogram of chocolate in my gananche, I finally came to the conclusion it wasn’t going to look perfect. I already knew working with fondant in summer was tough, but working with RED fondant is a whole other story. I decided to tackle the job of covering the cake in the coolest part of the day, and rose at 3.30am the next morning ready to do battle. Thanks to the temperature cooling to a lovely 22 degrees and our trusty air conditioner, covering the cake was a fairly simple process.
It wasn’t long before my big boy decided to wake early and come downstairs to join me, just as I was sitting down to decorate his cake. As he walked into the kitchen and spied the big red, lopsided and lumpy mass on the kitchen bench, a huge smile spread across his face and he immediately climbed up onto the stool to get a closer look. The two of us spent the next hour rolling fondant together to create hoses, lights, ladders and more and I tried my best to create and then place each item as per our big boy’s instructions.
He had a wonderful time helping me roll lengths of fondant for the ladder and balls to create the ‘flashing lights’ and he may have snuck in an Oreo or two whilst we were decorating
Yes it wasn’t the prettiest looking cake I’ve ever created, but without a doubt it was our big boy’s favourite and after all, isn’t that what is most important?
Do you enjoy making cakes for your kids birthday parties?
What has been their favourite cake?
Ingrid - Fabulous and Fun Life says
Brilliant looking party! I might pinch your rice paper rolls idea for my daughter’s 15th birthday party in a couple of weeks time!
laurenm83 says
Thanks Ingrid! They were really yummy and surprisingly were the first thing to go 🙂
Tammi @ Insatiable Munchies says
Awww that’s just too cute!! It’s providing me with lots of ideas for my nephews’ parties – they are big Fireman Sam fans too. Too cute.
laurenm83 says
Thanks Tammi, you will certainly be popular with your nephew’s if you make them a fire truck cake! My little guy is still asking me to make it again!
Dannielle from Zamamabakes says
I love making the kidlets birthday cakes! The best part is seeing there little faces light uo when you place it in front of them.
I love this fire engine cake of yours along with all the other party food!
Go you rising at 3am to beat the heat, the things we do for the little people in our lives but so worth it! xx
laurenm83 says
They really are worth it. I really enjoy making the boys cakes too and this year I actually relaxed and enjoyed the party as it was really low key.
EssentiallyJess says
It looks great Lauren! Well done!
I feel your icing pain. My babies are all June and July, so the cool months in Darwin, and yet every year icing was still a major problem. We would ice then freeze, ice then freeze and it would take hours.
Last year, making cakes in the middle of winter, I was in my element. So easy!!!
So did you use ganache and fondant? Or did you somehow combine the two?
laurenm83 says
Oh it would have been great last year! I still used ganache and fondant, the ganache just wouldn’t set properly and ended up going a bit soft after the fondant was put on it. It may have been on a little bit of a lean but he still loved it 🙂
Bec @ The Plumbette says
The cake looks amazing Lauren! I love the red hats too! Liam is so blessed to have you as his mum!
laurenm83 says
Thank you my dear, you are too lovely. I’m the lucky one to have such a special little man in my life x
Janet aka Middle Aged Mama says
I am SERIOUSLY impressed with that cake – it looks so good my mouth is watering! Having a January birthday sucks in a lot of ways, but I never thought about it making it hard to ice a cake before 😉
Visiting from #teamIBOT x
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
Thanks Janet, while it wasn’t perfect I was still very happy with how it turned out. Yep, the January heat and humidity sure don’t make it easy to decorate cakes! Have a lovely weekend x
Nadia says
What a great idea! Love the hats. Who doesn’t love a good addition to their dress up box!!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
Thanks Nadia! My boys love them, they were only just playing with them last night 🙂
Malinda @mybrownpaperpackages says
Yes! Parties are all about the cake! Though there are always a hundred other things to juggle as well. Your firetruck cake looks amazing!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
So true, it’s all about time management 🙂
Danielle L says
Wow, so impressive! I am a sucker for a great themed party and this all looks amazing! Well done for overcoming the elements to make the perfect cake for your little man!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
Thanks Danielle! I’m a sucker for them too (obviously), I just enjoy celebrating their special day.
mummywifeme says
Lauren, the cake is absolutely amazing and how special to have your little love help you make it. I bet he will remember that cake and party for the rest of his life x
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
Thanks Renee. It was really lovely decorating it together. He was hovering around whilst I was editing the photos and asked if we could make it again 🙂
Lauren @ The Thud says
Um, this is AMAZING!! Decorating cakes is my favourite thing in the world. It’s like art with food. I’m pretty new to fondant (I’m a buttercream lover) but I love how smooth and professional it looks (if you get it right!). And birthday boy looks pretty happy with his cake which is the most important thing. Lucky boy!!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
Thanks Lauren! I find something oddly calming about decorating cakes, that is once the fondant is on and it’s time to just have fun and make them look pretty!
Caitlin says
Any of my 3 three year olds would think that cake was wonderful! I must say it was a healthy party spread too! Well done!
laurenm83 says
Thanks Caitlin, I not to make naughty things all of the time!
Sonia Life Love Hiccups says
OMG I am in utter awe! What an insanely awesome party hun. And that cake! Holy Shitballs! Wow! Well done! xx
laurenm83 says
Thanks Sonia, you are too kind!
Emily says
You got up at 3.30 to decorate a cake? RESPECT! It looks fantastic. I like the idea of just choosing the colour of the food to match. And the crepe paper flames look great!
laurenm83 says
Yep, it was a mixture of crazy/dedication which made me do it! Thanks, they were actually a last minute decision and ended up being one of his favourite parts of the party!
Maxabella says
What a superman you are to tackle red fondant, Lauren. Such dedication and the cake looks fabulous as does the while shebang. You’re a superstar. Happy birthday to your little fella. x
laurenm83 says
Slightly crazy I think, that stuff is dangerous! Thank you x
Karen says
Hi Can i please have the link to your “go to chocolate mud cake” recipe”
Thanks,
Karen
Lauren says
Of course! We’re currently away on holidays so will send it through when I’m back. Merry Christmas x