Friday, May 22, 2026

11 years of adventure, many more to come.

Somewhere along the line our family became one of those National Park Families... where we plan trips all through the year to go see the beautiful places our country. Climb all the mountains, see all the views, eat snacks in the most beautiful places. When it came to a birthday day for our new 11-year-old - he said "National Park Cake!" What does that mean? Mountains! Trees! A Sign! Oof... we looked online and found some pallet painted cakes and I decided I could probably give that a try. Then we saw an ad for a cake topper that looked like a national park sign. Well for sure I could make that happen on my new laser cutter!
The day before the party I had the birthday boy help me draw mountains with a toothpick and he helped design it. We added some grass to the top and added the sign the day of. It turned out amazing. Pair that with green and blue tablecloths, blue and white balloons taped to my ceiling for clouds and sky (I told them I just didn't want tape on the ceiling - we had tape on the ceiling), and bear plates with tree napkins... it was quite the adventure birthday! I love it went a plan works. The kid requested yellow cake, which I made and added a vanilla pudding mix to it, strawberry buttercream frosting, and vanilla for the rest of the frosting. This may have been the first year he actually ate some of the cake and enjoyed it! We win! Happy 11th Birthday Nicholas Warren! I can't wait to have more adventures.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz Freeze Dried Strawberries - ground into powder
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium-high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream, strawberry powder, and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium-high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

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