Fun Cakes for Kids

If you are anything like me, and enjoy going to great lengths to amuse or please your family, you might like these fun cakes for kids. These are both variations of examples on http://familyfun.go.com/. They have some great ideas for kid stuff.

I will give myself away here and mention that the first time I tried the castle cake, I did it princess-style for my little god-daughter. Well, let me just say, my husband and I were in stitches as the cake collapsed all over the place and the end result was not fit for a princess. Yes, a picture does exist. No, I will not post it.

My son made this "sandcastle" cake for his Odyssey of the Mind meeting (a great learning competition for kids) http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/ . I actually bought bakery cakes from the grocery store rather than making the cake itself from scratch. Kids don't care about that part. Make sure you use sturdy, dense cake for any layering. Cut 2 circles, one large, one small, out of a one-layer cake. Place on the bottom cake and use vanilla icing to frost. Have your kiddo smash up 25 vanilla wafer in a Ziploc bag. Press crumbs into cake. Make spires by frosting cake cones and sugar cones together. Try to make a little dent in the cake as you place the towers on, and add a little icing around the bottom to stabilize. Then, the kiddos can add cookies or graham cracker sticks for decoration. My son had a lot of fun, and the sandcastle was a hit!

My little son had so much fun with this "french fry" cake. He put the plate on the table at dinner as a surprise for his little sister. It was pretty cute. This one is really easy.  You can use a bakery or Sarah Lee pound cake. Cut off browned edges. Slice loaf into narrow strips. Arrange on cookie sheet. Place under broiler and lightly toast all 4 sides of the "fries". Just watch out, because once the cake starts to brown, you have about 15 seconds before brown turns to black. Not that I got distracted watching Spongebob from the kitchen and burnt one side of the fries or anything, I just heard that's what could happen. Anyway, I bought red decorating icing for "ketchup", and that was it. Try it with your little ones. I got the Mom of the Year Award. Yesterday. For 5 minutes.