Pirate Ship Birthday Cake!!!

Weeks and weeks of planning and internet research finally got me up to speed on pirate ship birthday cakes! I looked at dozens of images from quite a few sites, some even with directions to get me started. This was a labor of love for my little man, and it was a challenge - a fun challenge - but it had me doubting myself right up to the very end! Here's the play-by-play:

Earlier in the week, I baked off four 9x13 marble layer cakes and froze them, but only ended up using 3. I used Duncan Hines Supreme mixes, and spiffied them up a bit with pudding mix, milk instead of water and an extra egg - moist and delicious! (Thanks for the tip, Anne!) Baking the cakes early and freezing them was a must - being partially frozen made them easier to stack and carve, and easier to frost. I didn't notice any difference in the taste or texture.


I started with 2 layers - leveled them off then began building up the ship. The bottom layer is one whole 9x13 and an additional 3 inches from the second layer cake. Before assembling, we whipped up a big old batch of chocolate buttercream and a smaller vanilla batch for piping work.


I used the remaining bits of the second and third layers to build up the bow and stern portions. I always stack cakes with the cut-side down to make frosting them a bit easier. Less crumbs that way.


An additional cut piece on the stern end to give some height and another layer of deck - more "pirate-ship-like" in my opinion. I'm sure there is a technical term for it, but my research only carried me so far.


Once the layers were stacked and fairly even, I used two dowels in the stern end to keep the ship from falling over. The front was fairly sturdy, so I skipped them. I carved the front end into the bow shape with a smaller serrated knife. Semi-frozen cake very helpful here.


This is the crumb-coat or, as my good friend* Buddy Valastro says, it's "dirty iced". I used a small offset spatula to make the grooves in what would be the decks - I wanted it to look different than the sides.
I used a basketweave tip to pipe on the ship's planking for a wood look, varying the length of the piping to mimic the wood. Covered the entire outside of the ship this way.

I used a larger round tip to pipe over the seams of the ship. It tidied it up and gave it a more finished look, in my opinion.

I used orange-tinted frosting to make windows (portholes?). The frosting was supposed to be golden colored, but copper and golden yellow tints apparently make orange when mixed together, so I went with it. Meh. I wasn't thrilled, but 2 1/2 hours into the project and something had to give. Turned out fine - I didn't hear anyone exclaiming about the scandalous orange windows/portholes I had made, so all is well in cake land.

I added Pocky and Twizzler constructed railing along the back of the ship, held together with buttercream. We attempted to do the same railing on the front, but the carved cake was threatening to give way around the edges, so we just skipped it. Slapped down some chocolate Twizzlers and declared it a masterpiece! By the way - chocolate Twizzlers? A new fave! Yummy! Who'd a thunk it?? And Pocky? Thank goodness for Pocky - I had NO idea what this stuff was, but apparently it's an Eastern (as in Asia--maybe Japanese?) treat. Little shortbread sticks dipped in chocolate. I went on a hunt for those candy reception sticks with which to build my railing, but couldn't find any in a store around here. World Market and Pocky to the rescue!

To dress up our ship a little, I added Rolo gunpowder barrels (just stick two of them together with a little frosting), pretzel M&M cannon balls, a Kit-Kat plank and some cannons made with rolled-up wafer cookies, also purchased at the World Market. That place has some neat stuff, and it saved me from having to sculpt gigantic Tootsie Rolls into cannons! Yippee!! Up on top of the very top deck, I made a little treasure box from some cake scraps and plain old frosting. Piped a little bit of detail on it and it was almost done.

This is the finished version at the party. I added sails made from plain old paper and chopsticks. The pirate flag was a serendipitous Joann's Fabrics clearance bin find for 10 whole cents the week before the party. If not for the little wooden flag, I would have just printed out a jolly roger from the good ol' internet. Add a few pirate figurines, a "4" candle and some icy blue buttercream waves and Voila! or Ahoy! or Whatever! = Pirate Ship Birthday Cake!!!

*I do not personally know Buddy Valastro. I do love his show, though. That makes us "friends" right?

**The pink shirt in some of the pictures belongs to my good friend, also named Cindy, who helped me with the cake and with keeping my sanity whilst building said cake, and who also saved my life by loaning me her KitchenAid for a whole week. Dramatic much, nah, not me! :)MUAH Cin!!

For my baby

Four years ago today, at 1:20 a.m., my little man arrived in this world. I've spent the time since his birth staring in awe, wishing him happiness in life, worrying if he's gonna be alright, hugging him, kissing him, squeezing him, tucking him in and trying to get him to eat his vegetables. Everything has been magical, except the vegetables. This letter is for him, my baby, on the occasion of his 4th birthday. I've tried to remember every year to write him a letter for him to have to read when he's older, but as most mommies, some things have slipped through my fingers. I'd like to think I get the really important things right, though :)

Dear Chase -

Today is your fourth birthday and we've been talking about it for months and weeks. It also happens to be your first day of VPK, so we get the bargain of two milestones in one! Unfortunately for you, you will probably share a few more birthdays with the first day of school. Maybe it won't be so bad - first day of school isn't the most horrible thing ever, right? I can't believe that four years have flown by as quickly as they have. I can still remember holding you when you were born and I was just amazed at the happiness I felt looking at your little face. I still feel that happiness when I look at those gorgeous blue eyes of yours, and I'm thankful every day that you came into my and Daddy's life. I never thought I could love one person so much.

You are quite a character at the age of four. You are constantly running, jumping, climbing and making up adventures for yourself. Your legs are constantly covered in bruises and scrapes and my number one request to you is to "slow down". You hardly ever oblige me that one. You start ever day bright and early (you're just like your daddy in the morning). Almost daily, I am awakened by your very loud "Mommy!" When I enter your room you ask "is it time to get up now?" and I almost always answer "not yet", and we get to snuggle for a few minutes before you can't stand it anymore and have to get up.

My favorite time of day with you is in the car on the way to school and back in the afternoons. It's just mommy and Chase time, and we have some of the most interesting conversations. On the way to school we discuss the day ahead of us and you ask the best questions. In the afternoons (when you're in a good mood), I get to hear all about your day, who you played with, what you worked on in school and how much of your lunch you ate. You are almost always red-faced and sweaty from the playground, and always ready for some cold water and a snack. Some days, you don't feel like talking, so you pretend to go to sleep in your car seat and fake snore. “Honk-shoo, honk-shoo”, while trying not to smile. Even those grumpy days make me smile, because you have SO much personality.

At the glorious age of four, you have developed some distinct likes and dislikes:

You LOVE:
-Milk and cheese and yogurt.
-Superheroes.
-Your best friends, Caden and Dylan.
-Fire trucks, ambulances, police cars and taxis, and you want to be a firefighter when you grown up. (Hopefully the taxi fascination wears off.)
-Your dog, Rocco, proportionately with not loving him if he is taking up room on mom or dad's lap.
-Looking at your scrapbooks and commenting on how cute you were as a baby.
-Pizza.
-Baseball, namely the Rays. You love to say "Boo Yankees" and then "Go Yankees", just to tease your Daddy. You're a funny little guy.
-Sweets. Chocolate, candy, fruit snacks, cookies, etc. You are a sugar fiend.
-Thankfully, you love both Daddy and I and you tell us every day, with no prompting.

You DO NOT love:
-Vegetables. I can't get you to eat a single one. I'm pretty sure that the tomatoes in pizza sauce don't count.
-Trying any new food. It's like pulling teeth to get you to just taste it. You are stubborn.
-Bedtime.
-Bugs. You're still wary of bugs, which makes mommy very happy.
-Being told "no", but I don't think anyone really likes that one.

We are so lucky to have you, my little monkey man. You changed our lives, as everyone said you would, and undeniably, it was for the better. Even when we have our rough days, we somehow manage to end them on a happy note, with hugs and kisses and back scratches and a few rounds of telling us "just one more thing". You are the center of our universe and not a moment has gone by that I would change. Every day you grow stronger and bigger and you get smarter and more joyful. My heart practically bursts every time you holler "Mama!" and when I ask you "what?", your answer is "I Love You".

I wish nothing more for you in life than the love and happiness that I have experienced in being your mother.

All of my love, always -
Mommy