This Cake is the Ship

I have a cloistered desire to be the next Ace of Cakes; although strictly amature in skill, my aspirations in showpiece cakemaking are sky high. Each of my kids' birthday cakes has been greater than the previous year's, thus this pirate ship cake is my latest masterpiece. I had so much fun making it and it took less time than I anticipated.

Amber said she wanted a "strawberry shortcake girl pirate ship cake", so I made the layers from a traditional shortcake batter, stacked them up with homemade strawberry jam and vanilla pudding mid-strata, gave it a crumb coat of chocolate buttercream, and topped it off with a vanilla buttercream wood grain.

I used mini Reese's peanut butter cups glued together with frosting to make powder kegs and barrels; Pop Rocks and gold icing made rubies and gold coins.

Pirouette cookies made great cannons and chocolate covered pretzels made up the railing around the deck. I used Whoppers for cannon balls and a stick of gum for the plank.

With its dirty pink sails and a killer Jolly Rodger flag, this cake was the perfect ending to Amber's delightful pirate party.

A Mighty Fun P-aarrrgh-ty

Amber has been obsessed with pirates since our jaunt to Treasure Island in Las Vegas, so she naturally wanted a pirate-themed birthday party. We held the salty event a week before her actual birthday so that all the grandparents could be here, and it was great fun! I found a "pirate girl" costume for her and she wore it all day. Adam and I gave Amber her birthday gifts, one at a time throughout the day, and by the time five o'clock rolled around, she was beyond excited about turning four.

Amber loved all the attention (of course) she

garnered when we sang "Happy Birthday".

Here's "Cinnamon" (that's Amber's self-given pirate name)

on the adorable Dora tricycle from Grandma and Grandpa Clark.

Amber and Gracie enjoying their golden chocolate coins

and sporting their anchor necklaces.

We had a special treasure in the treasure chest for each of the kids: sparkly, crystal daisy earrings for the girls and ring-pops for the babies.

The highlight of the party was the Captain Hook pinata filled with
a superb assortment of candy. Kinzie finished him off with a

spectacular hit and liberated all that yummy goodness.

We found the pinata at Robert's Crafts, Leslie had the adorable pirate chest in her remarkable stash of decor, my mom bought bubble-filled swords for the kids, and I made the anchor necklaces, bandanas, and skull bags as favors. The little scallywags ended up with lots of great treasures.

The party was super fun, Amber had a blast, and we really appreciate all the cute and wonderful gifts!