Superhero Cake

The cake was a recipe from Cake Doctor.  It was a Yellow Sour Cream Cake with Vanilla Buttercream frosting.  The fondant was Elite.  It contains white chocolate and is really good.  The print at home graphics came from B Squared Design.

After I made the cake batter, I separated it into thirds and used gel color to make the red, blue and yellow.  Gel colors are preferred because it takes very little to color a cake, as opposed to the old fashioned liquid kind.  I layered the colored batter on top of one another in concentric circles.  I tried hard not to move the pan too much.  Rather than evening out the batter with an offset spatula, I gently taped it on the counter and placed it in the oven.  The food color did not change the cooking time.

This is what the cake looked like when it was cut.  I almost cut the cake into four layers but I didn't want to disrupt the natural swirl that was created as the cake baked.  It was a hot day, so I opted for just a bit of buttercream between the layers.  Especially because I made and frosted the cake just hours before the party and there was little time to refrigerate.  It all made for a super light and moist cake.

Super Hero Party!

It is hard to believe but our baby boy just turned 5.  Like most boys his age, Milo is into two things... Superheroes and Star Wars.  It was hard for him to decide a theme for his party, but ultimately Superheroes won.  Naturally, I embraced this theme and went for it.  Most of the ideas below were taken from other party blogs.  All of it was fun to do.  Most importantly, the kids really seemed to have a great time.  

My husband is supremely talented.  He whipped this sign up to greet Milo on the morning of his actual birthday.  We left it hanging to welcome our party guests.

 The spread.  The party was from 2-4 pm so we set out a bunch of snack foods.  I was shocked at how much people ate!  On the table... Super Food! (fruit kabobs), Krunch! (Sun Chips & Pretzels), Super Dogs! (Mini Corn Dogs), Heroes! (Subway Sandwiches & Condiment bar), Pop! (Popcorn cones).

The dessert buffet.  The cake was vanilla but inside it was red, yellow and blue.  The fondant was cherry flavored.  What would any Superhero party be without a little Kryptonite?  Green Apple Rock Sugar Sticks.  And what has turned into a tradition at our house... cake pops.

Our photo booth.  I borrowed this idea from a few party websites.  It was so simple to make and so much fun for everyone.  My daughter helped me affix the windows (a.k.a. Post-its).

 Costumes to wear, costumes to share!  All for the photo booth.  I purchased the sign printables off of Etsy from B Squared Design.

 We had a Superhero dance party in our play room.  My husband made a mix of music the kids these days seem to love.  It was impossible for anyone to stand still.  

 Every man was once a little boy who dreamed of being Superman.  

 Pink Lightening

 The cake.  Once again, I purchased the graphics from B Squared Design and printed them with my own computer.

 The cupcakes were vanilla with cream cheese frosting.  If my son could have cream cheese at every meal, he would!  The cupcake holders and picks came from Williams-Sonoma.

 It is amazing that he had enough energy to blow out his candles, after running around all afternoon.

 My Dad, enjoying the Metropolis skyline.

 I caught these beauties red handed, sneaking candy.

 The birthday boy and his handsome father.  Milo's costume was "Cool Man".  

 This was another idea I stole from One Charming Party.  I purchased a lot of used comic books off of Ebay.  If you would like to make them yourself, all of the instructions can be found here.

 Punch is one of those nostalgic things that I would like to see make a comeback.  We often serve it at our parties, as an alternate to juice boxes.  

The popcorn cones.  I made them by scanning a comic book page and printing them onto cardstock.  I could have used regular paper but I was afraid that the oil from the popcorn would seep through and make it look greasy.  

The party favors were Superhero Learn-to-Read books that I purchased in sets at Costco.  The masks came from Party City.