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first birthday cake
at Mon, 10 May 2004 19:14:51 GMT in
>, (Vox Humana)
wrote :
>
>"Darrell Grainger" > wrote in
>message ...
>> My god-child is turning 1 next month and I want to make a cake for
>> her. I know there are restrictions on what I can put in the cake
>> (nuts, eggs, honey, etc.).
>>
>> My problem is that I don't know what kind of cake to make her. I was
>> thinking about a simple vanilla cake or a chiffon cake. Do I bake it
>> in the shape of something? Can I build something? I remember seeing a
>> cake that was a very three dimensional panda bear. Anyone know how
>> these are made? I tried hunting around the web but I couldn't find
>> anything about technique.
>>
>> Additionally, what would a 1 year old girl like? I was thinking
>> something like Blues Clues, Winnie The Pooh or Hello Kitty. Any other
>> suggestions?
>
>I know this will sound harsh, but you are really baking the cake for
>you. The one year old would be happy with Hostess Twinkie and a sippy
>cup of Kool Aid.
Don't underestimate how much kids can sense and appreciate the difference
between a good and bad cake. While it's true to say that a young child will
be perfectly happy with a Twinkie, I have also seen that even very young
children do notice the difference between a good cake and a Twinkie, if
they've been exposed to both, and will choose the good cake preferentially
over the Twinkie. The difference between them and an adult is that there is
no palpable disappointment if the cake they're confronted with isn't a
great one, and that, presented with a cheap cake or Twinkie, they most
likely won't refuse it outright.
However, they *will* refuse outright a cake with a flavour that they don't
like at all. A kid who doesn't like chocolate (my niece is one) would most
likely refuse a chocolate cake, one who didn't like lemon a lemon cake,
etc. Also, visuals are important. They aren't likely to be too interested
in a cake that looks ugly or plain. (On that count, the Twinkie wouldn't be
that successful). OTOH, the same could be said for adults. I have seen a
majority of adults choose a very pretty-*looking* cake over one that might
not be so perfect in appearance but which tasted great.
Cupcakes always go down well. They're easy to make, and easy to decorate so
they look pretty. Kids, especially small kids, also like them because the
size isn't overwhelming. I've seen most kids are obviously intimidated by
large cakes - they're far too big for them.
As far as what she would like, what does she seem to be attracted to right
now? Think about both the foods she likes and the activities she seems to
be interested in. For instance, when my young nephew turned 1, I had the
same idea you had. It didn't take long to think of what he'd like. Even at
that age he gobbled down blueberries as though they were going out of
style. And he was fascinated by his dad's construction projects. So, I made
a blueberry cake (sort of like a very light blueberry muffin) and covered
it with blueberry paste (literally, condensed, mashed blueberries). Then we
set some toy tools on top. He had great fun with it. Made himself
incredibly messy. Just what one would hope for.
--
Alex Rast
(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)
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