Here's a fun sail boat birthday cake idea for any age, and I can tell you the kids in my son's class went wild over this one! And not to brag, but the teachers and the principal were pretty excited too, especially since the cake was big enough to share a slice with everyone.
Now I have to admit, that like most of my crafting projects, this number six birthday cake was made with very little planning ahead, and even the wood patterned tray, which I love, was an idea that thankfully came to mind in the wee hours of the morning when I couldn't find the large plastic tray that I usually use for cakes. And let me tell you, the smooth contact paper is perfect, since you can wipe off any little messes quite easily. Got it? Cover a piece of styrofoam that you'd been saving with some ancient contact paper that you snagged from your mother's house, and you've got yourself a great base for your cake! Plus you can stick things into it, like flag posts and paper sail boats, or just about anything that you'd like to stay put!
Other than that, bake a double recipe of chocolate cake, (my favorite no-fail recipe here) in the largest disposable aluminum cake pan you can buy (and do recycle it, or cut it up for crafting afterwards!) and that will hopefully be enough cake to work with. I was able to cut most of the number six in one piece, with just one added piece at the top. I cut around a dinner sized plate for the bottom of the six, and the hole was made by basically pressing a drinking glass into the center of the cake. I iced the cake with blue tinted non dairy whip, added some chocolate candies, added the boats (see instructions here) and some mini bunting and wiped my brow as I sent the cake out the door. To be continued next month for the next birthday, which happens to be a nine......which in case you're not paying attention is actually an upside-down six! Now that should really be a piece of cake!
