Birthday Cake Bonanza!

So, I turned 30 on Monday. That's me below at my FIRST birthday. I can't believe I'm really this old, probably because I have the mindset of a 15-year-old (which reminds me, I have to watch my DVR'd episode of last night's "NYC Prep"). But this isn't going to be a whiny post all about getting older, getting bags under my eyes and blah, blah, blah. This is going to be about one of my favorite things...CAKE!

Birthday cake to be more specific. I'm attempting to do something I've never done before. I'm baking and decorating three birthday cakes for my upcoming birthday party on July 4th. (It's actually a joint party with Brad and two of our other married friends who have summer birthdays). My girlfriend actually has the same birthday as me, can you believe? I had never met anyone with the same birthday as me...until I met her. Crazy, I know. :) Good thing I like her...I didn't at first, but that's a different story.

OK, back to cake. Oh, I almost forgot - I'm actually making four cakes this week. I'm helping my S-I-L with a cake that she needs to take to a bachelorette party - so it will have some kind of fun "man" decoration. I haven't fully figured that out yet...

Anyway, here is the cake line up:

• Four layer, 9-inch round banana cake with peanut butter/cinnamon fudge filling and white chocolate cream cheese frosting (pour moi - I had banana cake on my first b-day, in that pic above - so I thought it would be fun to recreate 30 years later)

• Four layer, 8-inch square golden butter cake with light whipped chocolate ganache frosting (for my girlfriend - there will also be some surprise decorations - but she reads this blog so I'm not telling...)

• Four layer, 9x13 corn dog-shaped cake made with chocolate cake, raspberry filling and mousseline buttercream (for Brad - this will be my first-ever "carved" cake - so wish me luck! yes, it's going to look like a giant corn dog...or at least I hope it ends up looking that way!)

• Four layer, 8-inch square vanilla-apricot cake with apricot syrup and probably the mousseline BC too (this will be for the bach party)

I've made three of the cakes. They are all wrapped with plastic/foil and are sitting in the freezer. (by doing so I've realized that I hate plastic wrap and probably need a lesson in "wrapping.")

I've even made some headway with the frostings/fillings. I want everything to be done on Friday, so I scheduled out to bake/make something every day this week.

So far, I've realized that two cake pans are definitely better than one - if you are making layer cakes. Its really annoying to make a recipe, bake the cake and then repeat immediately when the pan is cool enough.

If you are interested in a few good pointers for cake baking, see below.

• Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (butter, eggs, milk) before mixing
• Use cake flour, instead of all-purpose, and be sure to sift it
• Prepare your pans well by greasing all sides and bottom, lining the bottom with parchment paper, greasing the paper, and flouring the pan (you can use cocoa powder when making chocolate cake)
• Use Magi Cake strips or Bake Even strips to ensure an even flat cake

Stay tuned for more updates on this cake adventure and pics!