Andrea- I will round-up a list of ideas for piping and share those with you guys. I am not the best at decorating- I have many friends who are far better, but I can get by with my limited skill set. My cakes were HORRIBLE for my class. I was so embarrassed. The fact that I can frost now and not have chunks of cake in the frosting is a gosh darn miracle

p.s. I’m sure you can’t GUESS whether or not I bake or do store bought…ahem.

I love the cake too! Good tip on freezing it. I see the shows do that and always thought it was probably a smart idea.

And, I have always bought our cakes each year (surprise, surprise) but since I’m feeling ambitious I think I’ll make our next birthday cake – poor middle child always getting the short end of the stick, especially with this experiment

Do you have any faves on the piping thingies (they probably have a real name – see I need help ? I’m assuming Michael’s would have a few options for me.

Great post and recipe on the icing too!!

We sometimes spell out Happy Birthday [name] with M&Ms.;

[Yes, the 6th birthday was the first and ONLY birthday party we have done. You do have a choice! ]

If I am going to make cake, I usually make cupcakes because they’re “pretty” and are exceptionally easy to serve.

I save money by shopping for my shaped pans at Goodwill. Unless there’s a reason for a particular shape (my son requested Lightning McQueen for his last birthday – and thankfully wants it again this year), I can build up my pan “library” for about $2-3 a pan rather than the $15-25 they sell for from Wilton.