Great Cakes for Boys

A few weeks ago I highlighted some adorable bug and animal cakes. Since many little boys aren't into butterflies or lady bugs, I thought I'd highlight a few fun shapes with engines. As always, the cake pans come with instructions on which colors and tips to use in order to make the cakes.

Below you can see the Cars shape of Lightning Mcqueen. This is sure to be a hit with any kid who loved the movie. We also have cupcake liners, candies, picks and treat bags to match here.

If your child wasn't really thrilled with Cars, but still loves race cars, we also have a NASCAR-style pan complete with a flag.

If your child is more into fire fighters, check out this ladder truck pan.

For train lovers, we have this train cake pan.

Or this fun 3-D train pan which you cook in two parts and then put together for an upright cake.

If you have a little farmer boy (or girl), maybe this tractor is right up their alley.

To check out the other fun pans available on our site, or to pick up some tips, bags, colors or other decorating supplies, check out our Web site!

Animal Cakes Are Great For Kids' Parties

Kids parties offer so much scope for the imagination. If your little one likes things that flutter, crawl, or swim, we probably have an pan that will fit your needs.

As with all of Wilton's shape pans, the Animal Crackers pan comes with instructions for decorating the cakes shown on the box. Not only does this one tell how to make the bear and pig shown below, but also for making a cat or giraffe.

The monkey pan could be just right for a jungle-loving child, or just one who enjoys reading the exploits of Curious George.


And tropical fish go great with a sea-side themed party.


Do you have a little insect lover? This Lady Bug pan can be used to make all kinds of insects with a little imagination.


Butterflies appeal to most little girls (and many of us who are not so little anymore).


Check out our Website for a complete list of our novelty pans and the supplies you'll need to decorate the cakes. Also, check out the Wilton site for other ideas of things you can do with these pans.

Add a Little Fairie Dust to Your Next Party

What little girl doesn't love fairies? Come to think of it, that particular interest is not solely held by little girls. Plenty of women out there are just as intrigued by fairies as any young girl. If someone in your family has a penchant for Tinkerbell, you are in luck. We have some really great products for an upcoming party.

If Cupcakes are your thing, we have these cute cupcake liners, which comes in packages of 50, and Tinkerbell picks for decoration.

If you prefer not to provide a room full of kids with toothpicks to poke at each othere, we also have these cute candy icing decorations. Alternately, we have these darling little party toppers which would be great on a cake, on cupcakes, or as decorations for your table.

If you'd like to make a Tinkerbell shaped cake, we have a pan for that. Along with the icing colors.

Or if you want to go with a standard round cake, you could put it one one of these fun Cakescapes. The package comes with a cardboard cake stand with decorative sides, a 10" cake board, and 8 treatbags with ties. The treatbags are also sold separately if you prfer them that way.

To see all of this and more, check out our Website!

This Shape Pan Offers Enchanting Possibilites

Do you love the shape pans available, but wish you could get more than one use out of them? Relax, with a little ingenuity, you can adjust pans for several different themes. As an example, I've chosen the Enchanted Castle pan from Wilton. All of the below pictures were pulled off of Wilton.com. The first picture is the one posted in the 1996 yearbook. Directions for making this cake are included with the pan, or can be downloaded from Wilton.com.


Next, we have the haunted mansion. The jump from princess castle to scary Halloween retreat is easy to see, but how about the next one?


The Lighthouse seascape cake is a nice adjustment for a summer vacation celebration, or going away celebration for someone interested in rocky beaches.






















And Christmas cake anyone? This array of candles could easily be adjusted to celebrate a fifth anniversary, or with a tweak, change the candles to people and you could picture your family. The possibilities are endless.

To buy the cake pan, and any supplies you may need, check out our Website.

How to make a Wall*E cake

Trying out cake decorating for the first time can be a bit intimidating, but I'm going to show you step by step how to go about it. This Wall*E cake pan was used to create a tasty confection for one of my grandchildren. First removed the picture and wash it out.

Next, grease and flour the pan. It can be hard to get all of the little edges and corners in these shape pans and we recommend using a pasty brush with shortening on it to make sure you get complete coverage. If you don't have a pastry brush, you could just use a plastic sandwich bag on your hand, but make sure every bit of the bottom is well covered, then flour it. If you don't grease it well enough, you'll have bits of cake stick to the pan.

Next, pour the batter into the pan.
When the cake it out and cooled partway, flip it upside down on a cooling rack or a clean dish towel to dislodge the cake from the pan.

Next, ice the outside part around Wall*E. The contrast and lighting is what makes it look like the cake is darker brown than in the previous picture. A spatula is a great tool to use in this step. When you are trying to get the frosting to smooth out nice, one simple trick is to dip you spatula or knife in a cup of water between swipes so the frosting won't stick to it. Just make sure you don't get the frosting too wet.

One great thing about these character pans is that Wilton includes directions on which tips to use when and special tips on how to get your finished product to look right. In this case, they suggest you use a #5 tip to outline the wheels and eyes, and a #10 to fill the spaces in. To smooth the larger section, dip your fingertip in a bit of corn starch, then smooth the frosting with it.

After that, outline the rest of Wall*E in the yellow frosting and fill it in.

With a little care and time, you could be producing this cute cake for a special child in your life. Pastry bags, tips, and other tools you may need are available on our Web site.