Pandamonium - Part 1

Pandas are one of my favourite animals and after making reindeer cakes I really wanted to try making a panda version. I love animals, which a lot of children do too so I thought animal themed cupcakes would be a great idea for a party.

I had a few ideas myself of how to make panda cupcakes such as with Oreos for ears and I also had a browse on the internet to see what else I could find. Turns out they are a popular style of cake to make as I found many different versions, for example on this website:

http://www.birthdaycakes-idea.com/panda-cupcake-ideas-for-birthday-cake.html

Then my Mum borrowed a cupcake recipe book from a friend which had an amazing recipe for how to make them. Here's a bit about the book...

Hello, Cupcake! By Karen Tack & Alan Richardson.

This New York Times Bestseller states it has “Irresistibly playful creations anyone can make”. This is perhaps questionable as the book presents an array of elaborate cupcakes ranging from horse shaped ones to others decorated like roast dinners. To an inexperienced baker the challenges the book presents could be quite scary! However, in the ‘Cupcaking Techniques’ chapter the book gives detailed descriptions and lots of images demonstrating the methods used in the recipes included. So if you are enthusiastic to learn then the book is a good place to start your cupcake making adventure. The recipes are also easy to follow but as the book is American certain suppliers suggested to get the ingredients from are not available in the UK. 

This book is a great source to get many ideas for party cakes that children would love; so as the book states “find a project that tickles your fancy, grab a bag or two of candy, and get ready to put your smile into overdrive. It’s time to get this party started” (1). 

:)

I  too did what they said and got prepared to make panda cupcakes using the 'Pandamonium' recipe which you’ll see the results of in my next post!

Karen Tack & Alan Richardson. Hello, Cupcake! New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

Birthday Cakes

The most important part of a birthday party that kids wait all year for!

I remember I loved choosing which cake I was going to have at my party and spent ages looking through my Mum’s recipe books. I guess most Mums just chose the cake for their child, but I was a rather fussy one! My Mum has always been very creative with making cakes and let me have fancy ones!

Here’s my 1^st birthday cake, (of course, I wouldn’t have had a say in this one!)

 My favourite book to choose my cake from was Cakes for Kids by Sarah Stacey. Sarah starts the book with an informal introduction using a friendly first person narration that makes you feel more comfortable with the idea of trying to make elaborate cakes as she speaks of having “little experience,” (5)  and no “formal training,” (5) in cake making herself before writing the book. She states that she hopes the “book makes it clear that producing wonderful cakes can be fun and fast,” (5) and appeals to the parent as a busy person that may not have time to make amazing cakes yet will be able to use this simple guide to do so. She also refers to children in her introduction stating that she talked to them and went to their parties where she found out “Having a better cake than you friend whose party was last week is very important” (5). Thus, she establishes the importance of birthday cakes yet makes them also sound not so daunting to make!

Further into the book Sarah provides all for the novice baker, stating detailed lists of what equipment to use and presenting basic recipes of how to make cake bases such as a Victoria sponge. She also says how to use each ingredient individually when icing cakes. She then provides the reader with recipes for the different cakes which are set out in sections ‘Quick and Easy,’ ‘Easy but not as quick,’ ‘Not to be rushed,’ and ‘Non-birthday,’ which makes it simple for the reader to identify what challenge with cake making they would like to try depending on their skill and how much time they have. Each recipe either comes with stencils on the page for the decorations used or they are included at the back, such as basic lettering to save time in drawing out your own. Also the recipes all start with a little anecdote about who she made the cake for and why which adds a personal tone and shows she has really made all the cakes and tried them out on real children. Overall, from my Mum’s experience of making cakes from this book she thinks the book is easy to use and the tone Sarah uses is also reassuring telling the reader that it “ doesn't matter,” if this or that happens as she is there guiding you along the way with detailed suggestions of how to do everything. However, it’s probably not the best recipe book to use with kids as the cakes are not ones you want any little fingers messing up!

 

(The computer cake shows the age of the book as it was printed in 1986 so computers are a lot more advanced then this now!)

These are 2 of my favourite cakes my Mum made from this book:

Marshmallow Garden – This is cake decorated with lots and lots of sweets which makes me think of the book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett as it is like a special garden just for the birthday girl! I do have a photo of this but the non-existence of digital cameras at the time means the quality is shocking!

Top of the Pops – The “chocolatiest,” (24) of cakes! My Mum slightly adapted the recipe and used a real CD on top.

There is a story behind this cake too much like the stories you find in food memoirs which goes like this…

One party, One cake, One dog

It was my 7th birthday. My party for this year was at the Frontier Post; the only western themed restaurant in Bexleyheath. I don’t know why I chose that venue; I didn’t have a particular interest in cowboys and Indians. I was more the colour pink and Barbie’s little girl. But my special day couldn’t arrive sooner. I’d invited everyone in my class, as tradition at primary school but also family. My grandparents and auntie and uncle had come down from Chester especially for the party. Unfortunately, the only member of the family that would be missing out on some birthday cake was our sheepdog, Susie – we didn't think the restaurant would appreciate an animal guest!

        On the day of the party, full of beans, I got ready. My birthday outfit was a long, beige, camouflage, maxi dress with a split up the side from Debenhams. It was made from polyester that clung to my skin. I thought it was so fashionable. My signature hairstyle was wacky with plaits, twirls, twists, clips, grips, fluff and sparkle. Today was no exception. My long, auburn hair was scattered with lots of sparkly, flower shaped clips and tied back with one big hair band with red, blue, green and orange pom poms on it, holding the master piece together. In our flowery hallway I posed away for the Kodak disposable camera. My little monkey face beamed with joy at being the birthday girl.

        The cake was the real star of my party. My mum had slaved away in the kitchen making an extra chocolately birthday cake. I looked through her recipe book, ‘Cakes for Kids,’ for hours and chose a different one each year. A traditional Victoria sponge cake from Marks and Spencer would NOT be good enough. This year she made a music themed, round chocolate sponge, covered in thick chocolate butter cream icing and sprinkles, topped with a real CD in the middle and tiny silver balls around the outside. The chocolate obsessed monster inside me couldn't wait to eat it. So you would think I had the first bite of the oh so anticipated birthday cake… but no, I didn’t.

        Her super smelling doggy senses must not have been able to resist the rich, indulgent chocolate smell. She’d been waiting for the perfect chance to have her wicked way with it. Just her and the cake alone in the room. Would this dog have a very full belly?

Yes.

        My mum screamed and scolded Susie. The beautiful cake had a big chunk missing. It was now being digested by a naughty sheep dog. Susie was not invited to my next birthday party.

And if you wanted to know, my Mum did manage to save the rest of the cake and fix it!

Stacey, Sarah. Cakes for Kids. London: Elm Tree Books, 1986.

What's Sweet and Wobbly?

JELLY

Yes, the traditional party food typically associated with children. A fun and easy to make dessert! Why fun? Because as any child would tell you… it’s bright, sweet and wobbles when you poke it! Even the name jelly has a fun sound to it!

So I decided to make jelly as it’s an important type of food that generally comes up on a party food menu and also features in children’s literature such as in ‘Milly-Molly-Mandy Gives a Party’.

I bought a jelly mould and 2 sachets of jelly crystals from my local supermarket which came to the grand total of £1.60, so a very cheap party delicacy to make. The packets I bought were sugar free and had no artificial colours or flavours so are slightly better for kids and their teeth!

The ingredients and preparation

I followed the instructions on the back of the packet which involved adding the crystals to half a pint of boiling water, stirring them until they dissolve, then adding half a pint of cold water and pouring the mixture into the jelly mould. I then let it set in the fridge for 6-8 hours.

Now removing it from the jelly mould was a challenge! I thought I was going to end up with mashed up mess of wobbly red stuff but I managed to save it! After looking up advice on the internet of how to get your jelly safely out of the mould I discovered these tips helped: Poke a knife down the edges of the jelly mould to ease it out and you can also try placing it in a bowl of hot water for a few seconds before attempting to empty the contents on to a plate. In the end my jelly made it out of the mould only a bit disfigured! I decorated it with bananas, cream and cherries to make it more appetising. I also discovered that it probably wasn’t best to use a black plate as it doesn’t show off the bright red colour that the jelly is. Oh well, I’m no Delia Smith, even if it is only jelly! But my Mum did tell me that it is notoriously hard to get a jelly out of its mould!

Here is my wibbly, wobbly strawberry jelly…

Served like this in a sundae dish or even just a bowl the jelly looks like a tasty, appealing desert to serve at a children’s party and I’m sure kids would love the messy, colourful, wobbly appearance anyway!

An example of how jelly is used in children’s literature as a typical party food is in the Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories (1928). I loved these books as a little girl and can remember reading them all the time before I went to bed. There was a map of Milly-Molly-Mandy’s village in the front sleeve of my edition which I always used to look at and imagine her and her friends going on their adventures!

In the story, ‘Milly-Molly-Mandy Gives a Party,’ Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan decide to host a party; however they do not have enough money to buy the refreshments. So they start their own business, “Millicent Margaret Amanda & Susan & Co.,” (81) where they sell “bunches of flowers,” (81) “clean brass,” (81) and “run errands” for a very cheap price. As a didactic narrative this story teaches children the value of money and how to earn it yourself. Even if it is only running little jobs it still enforces ideologies of business and commerce. The story also teaches children, in particular girls, the skills of being a hostess. The girls simple attempt at hosting a party involve them having “clean hands and paper cups and aprons,” (88) and then welcoming their guests with a “marigold,” (88) for each gentlemen’s buttonhole and a “pansy,” (88) for each lady. This shows that the text promotes basic manners and cleanliness. Then there is the main feature of the party which the girls have been saving up for, the refreshments: “raspberry-drops and aniseed-balls on saucers trimmed with little flowers; and late blackberries on leaf plates; and sherbert drinks, which Billy Blunt prepared” (89). This shows the girls sweet yet childish attempt at party food, they haven’t made any amazing food you would get at a grown-up party but they have tried their best with what they can do at their young age and with the little money they have. This presents how hostess skills and cookery are being promoted towards girls through the text as Milly and Susan are the ones that organise and prepare the party; whereas their male friend Billy just deals with the drinks and the music which could been seen as the less domestic, feminine jobs. Finally, the ultimate dish that Milly and Susan make is the jelly, which like mine comes from a packet! However, it does not go very well and has “to be eaten rather like a soup, as it wouldn’t stand up properly” (89). This comic result portrays the child-like element to the party but suggests that as they are children it doesn’t matter as at least they have tried and all the adults humour them by saying they “enjoyed the jelly so much” (89). In relevance to my own jelly-making this scene shows how hard it is to make jelly even though it seems simple enough to make that even a child could do it! Overall, the significance of the organising of the party and the making of the food in the story shows how the didactic narrative provides lessons for children and in particular enforces gender roles as Milly and Susan inhabit the domestic sphere of the female as hostesses.

Lankester, Brisley, Joyce. Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories. London: Puffin, 2011.