CookThatBook

Today I feel like the best Mom in the world.

My eldest daughter just turned four, and instead of the usual gong show birthday party madness we packed up the kids and headed to the Okanagan for a few days. It was the first time we celebrated her birthday without dozens of our nearest and dearest, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about her potential disappointment at not having a big party. So in order to circumvent any feelings of regret (hers and mine both) I went nuts on her cake.

Now my daughter has this pair of flower jammies that are her favourite sleepwear item in the world. Despite the fact she has a drawer full of equally lovely nighttime attire, nothing else will do except the ones with the crazy sixties flower print. She wears them every day, and if I dare throw them in the wash they better be ready come bedtime because this kid has no qualms when it comes to wearing them dirty or still damp from the wash.

Knowing her adoration for these jammies, I decided to make her birthday cake a sort of homage to this favoured item of clothing. I made a basic chocolate cake (two round layers), following a recipe from Ina Garten which turned out fabulous. The cake was rich and moist and so full of chocolaty goodness! For the icing I opted for a plain buttercream, whipped till frothy. (Click here for Ina Garten’s cake recipe and click here for my buttercream icing recipe)

Mr. Spock and I divided the icing and played with food colouring until our hands were stained all colours of the rainbow. Our efforts were worth it in the end because boy did we nail the colours of her jammies! It took a few hours to fully decorate the cake, as numerous trips into the fridge were necessary in order to firm up the icing before continuing with the multi-layered design.

At the end of the day I am pleased to say that the cake turned out absolutely amazing, tasted even better than it looked, and the birthday girl was giddy with excitement!

Today I feel like the best Mom in the world.