A Red White and Blue 1st Birthday Party (and cake!)

Our friend Becky recently threw the most amazing Red White and Blue themed birthday party for her son's first birthday. I was so impressed with the effort (and results) of this fabulous party. Not a detail was missed. From a streamer covered table to crafts and games in the backyard, and a burger themed food spread and fun on the inside, she had all bases covered.

I was also impressed that Becky had enough faith in me to make not one, but two cakes for the party. A "big kids" cake, and a smash cake for Kellan. I've only made cakes for family before, so the pressure was on to make something that would be presentable for the party.

I went with a classic white cake and buttercream, because you can never really go wrong with that combination. I made the cakes on Friday night and had just enough time to layer and crumb coat the smash cake. I've always had a problem with time management when it comes to baking, so the more I could get done on Friday, the better. I made sure that I was organized and had all my materials ready, along with drawings of how I wanted the cakes to look. I just didn't want anything to go wrong!

Smash Cake

Petal Cake

The smash cake was a simple 6 inch round 3-layer cake, and I used colored buttercream for the stripes on top, and modeling chocolate for the stars and the number one. If I did it all over again, I would actually make it just a 2 layer cake. I think it ended up being too high and overwhelming for little Kellan to dig into it.

The larger 10 inch petal cake involved a pretty easy technique called the "petal technique". It might look hard, but it really only requires time and patience. It's just a matter of keeping straight lines, and wiping off the spatula after each and every dot/swipe. I used this tutorial to brush up on the technique before decorating on Saturday. I've tried this several times now, and each one has gotten easier and better. It's just a matter of practicing- but I think anyone can try this icing technique. I think it's just so pretty, and the possibilities are endless. I was really happy with the final results, and look forward to trying more things soon.

Our friend and photog extraordinaire Melanie Wright Photography was there to capture all the special moments, and I'm sure she got some great shots. Big thanks to her for sharing the first professional pictures of my cakes! She is soon to be my neighbor, and I'm hoping to employ her for some more pictures in the future. Next time you're on Facebook, head on over and "like" her professional page. Be sure to leave my name, too- I want to win the Christmas in July contest! (I have a brilliant idea involving a few animals and christmas lights for a possible family card.)