Birthday cakes are a fact of life around here. With 10 kids between Marc and I, a son-in-law, and three grandkids plus various friends we have birthdays nearly every month. Often they happen in multiples. Since my first child’s first birthday I have tried to make each birthday special and unique. Sometimes I don’t do so well and other times I do great – usually it is somewhere between the two.
Erin, my oldest daughter, is often part of the planning – she and I have worked together on parties for so long that it is almost second nature. When we were planning my step-daughter’s party just before Christmas we finally decides on a hippo theme. Christine loves hippos and collects them so it was almost a no brainer. The only problem was how to actually manipulate cake into the shape of a hippo.
I am not Duff Goldman. Nor do I have tons of time to make cakes. With a baked cake you should be able to complete this in about two hours. It took me an hour and a half. Continue reading
