Birds & The Bees

I feel like I've begun to gauge seasonality by whether or not the Threadcakes contest is in session, instead of what the weather is. And lately in Chicago (or one could argue, most places), its for the best, because it's a bit of a rarity these days that the weather is seen as a true reflection of what it "should" be for the time of year.

For this year's entry, I have created my own version of "Birds & The Bees" as I know they are a confused as I am about the wack-ness that is our climate these days. Especially the bees, but that's another story for another time. I remember being at work and telling a friend about Threadcakes and looking at t-shirt designs during our lunch break. We both saw this design and wanted to buy it immediately however at the time it was out of stock. I think I hit the request to "reprint" button at least a minimum of 50 times. So when this years contest came around, I decided I had to recreate it.

I started with a super simple and extremely delicious buttery yellow cake recipe that I found on the website of one of my favorite bloggers, Bakerella. (Side note - crazy happy that she's participating as a judge this year! Love her!) After leveling my cake layers (once they were cooled of course), I then made my go-to fluffy vanilla frosting (how can you go wrong with aerated butter and sugar? Honestly now!). Then I frosted the crumb coat and stuck it in the fridge overnight so I could set to work on the decorating in the morning. The next morning, I dyed my fondant with various food colorings - praying it didn't come out looking like puke, luckily it didn't - and covered the cake in the background color of the t-shirt. The rest of the colors were a little more fool proof to dye than the background color. Once those were waiting and ready, I set to work hand-shaping all of the details to go on the top of the cake - the tree branch, the leaves, the bird, the bee, and last but not least the conversation bubble. Since I had some extra frosting left, I then decided to cover the sides with some decorative dollops for a finishing touch.

By then it was time for a late lunch and I was able to try a slice after my meal. (Don't worry - I shared some too!) I'm kind of what you call a plain girl - I like things sweet but simple. Toppings on my pizza? Cheese, and if I'm feeling adventurous, more cheese. Favorite ice cream? Vanilla please. So it should come as no surprise that a fluffy but moist yellow cake would be my choice. It was delish and as always, I had a blast making it! Can't wait for next year for the excuse to do it all over again! The countdown is on!