Happy birthday Brendysaurus and Mitchatops!

So it is the husband’s birthday today – the big 2-7! He shares his birthday with an old timer from his high school he calls a “friend”, Mitch. Since they share the same birthday, we normally celebrate their respective birthdays together with their high school crew. Last year, I made Brendyn and Mitch a Bat Mobile cake (let’s be honest, it was more for Brendyn than Mitch, after all, Brendyn is BATMAN). Given that last year’s birthday cake was more for Brendyn than Mitch, I decided to let Mitch pick what cupcake theme he would like this year. He chose “dinosaurs”.

I was a little slow off the mark this morning with my baking as I had to make Brendyn breakfast in bed. Of course we had nothing in the fringe or pantry for me to fix breakfast, so I had to run to the shops, buy the ingredients, get home and cook the birthday boy breakfast. So after that ordeal, I got started on the dinosaur themed cupcakes.

I was not sure who was going to the boozy lunch festivities, but I knew the old school high school crew would be there in full stead: Steve, Hobbs, Brendyn and Mitch! Given that I am not one to make simple cupcakes, I decided to make personalised dinosaur cupcakes. But how does one make personalised dinosaur cupcakes, you ask? Easy - make dinosaurs named after the birthday boys and the party goers. So I made a Stevosaurus, Hobbs-Rex, Brendysaurus and Mitchatops out of fondant. I made little name labels as well, in case the boys got a little confused after consuming a few too many beers (and let’s be honest, they did)!

Boozy lunch was scheduled at 1PM today and I by the time I had finished the toppers it was 11.45AM. At this stage, I still had to make the actual cupcakes and make myself look half decent. So being strapped for time, I decided to whip up a quick batch of vanilla cupcakes. As the cupcakes were cooking and cooling, I was running around the house like a maniac getting ready. I managed to get myself and the cupcakes looking fairly average by 1PM. Although I was not necessary on time, at least I was not too ridiculously late.

Anyway, the boys were not complaining about my tardiness! They loved their personalised dinosaur cupcakes despite being 27 year old grown men.

Boys will always be boys ...

My baking adventures officially began last year, when my little nephew Zachary turned four.  He asked me to make dinosaurs cupcakes for his kindy class. I made these little vanilla cupcakes with dinosaur short bread cookies on top and dinosaur sprinkles. I was so proud of my efforts! I honestly thought I was the bees knees being able to produce cupcakes of such a high standard. 



I now look back my first baking efforts and I can’t help but giggle. Let's just say, I can see now how much I have learnt this year.

Zachary’s parents decided to host his birthday party this weekend past. Still being obsessed with dinosaurs, he had a dinosaur themed party. But, not just any dinosaur party, a Zachyosaurous themed party - Zachary wears red spectacles and his mum managed to find an image online of a dinosaur wearing red spectacles, which we subsequently named Zachyosaurous!

Given all the work his mum and dad put into organising the party, I felt the pressure to step up to the plate and bake something extraordinary. I made twelve raspberry cupcakes topped off with Zachyosaurous edible fondant toppers and a butter cake with a giant fondant Zachyosaurous sitting on top. Originally I had planned to make a three dimensional Zachyosaurous cake, i.e. carve the dinosaur out of butter cake and decorate it with fondant, but sadly ran out of time.

In my usual style of leaving everything to the last minute, I only started to bake and make the cupcake toppers the day before the party after work of course! Needless to say, I stayed up for most of the night to make sure everything would be finished on time. The only thing that was keeping me sane at 4AM, with fondant and flour in my hair and colouring smeared down my pants, was the thought that Zachary would eventually grow out of novelty cakes. But then it hit me, I still bake novelty cakes for my adult husband!

Anyone who knows Brendyn knows that he loves Batman to the extent that he thinks he is Batman. Being the supportive wife that I am, for his 25^th birthday last year I made him Batman cupcakes.

Wanting to make my husband the best cake possible (and being a good wifey), I researched various Batman themed cakes over the past year for Brendyn's  26^th birthday.  I came across a Batmobile cake and knew that I had to make it!

I guess boys will always be boys ...