Dad's Birthday Cake

I am not a cake baking/decorating expert, but I do enjoy the creative process of making cakes on special occasions. I shared with you the sea turtle cake I made for my sister in September. 

This weekend we had a small celebration at our house to celebrate Dad’s birthday, which is today. He is a big fan of chocolate so I made him a two layered chocolate cake with chocolate and vanilla frosting.

I used one tub of Market Pantry chocolate frosting from Target to frost the sides of the cake and in between the layers. Being a fan of chocolate myself, I really like this frosting. 

These are my two sneaky ingredients. Target often sells seasonal frosting and then puts it on clearance after the holiday. I like to stock up on this cheap frosting. It usually does not expire for a year after I purchase it.

Unfortunately store bought frosting is not as stiff as regular decorator’s icing.  A professional cake decorator told me to simply mix in some corn starch to the store bought frosting to thicken it up. 

I do not have a measurement for how much corn starch I use. I just keep adding and mixing until the frosting transforms into the desired consistency.

For Dad’s cake I used a Wilton 1M tip to make swirls all over the top. I am happy I decided not swirl the sides, which would have resulted in frosting overload. The top swirls alone used an entire tub of frosting. 

The giant birthday candles are menorah candles that I bought 90% off at Target.

Grandma also attended the birthday celebration. She was quite tickled by my rotary dial phone that is just like hers. 

Monday ~ The DIY Showoff Project Parade ~ Made by You Mondays ~ Embellishing Life Everyday ~ Just Something I whipped up Monday  ~ The CSI project  ~ Menu Plan Monday ~ C.R.A.F.T.  ~ The Southern Institute ~ Making the World Cuter ~ Thrify Décor Chick ~ Metamorphosis Monday ~ Sumo Sweet Stuff ~ Gunny Sack ~ Singing Three Little Birds ~DIY Homes Sweet Home ~ Dittle Dattle ~ 1929 Charmer ~ Everything Under the Moon  ~ ModMix Monday ~ Sew Stylish ~ Its So Cheri  ~ Bath Bomb Creations

Tuesday ~ Get Your Craft  ~ Tip Junkie ~ Blackberry Vine ~ Crafty Confessions ~ Me & my Boys ~ A Bowl Full of Lemons ~ Home Stories A-Z ~ My Uncommon Slice of Suberbia ~ Coastal Charm ~ Carolyn’s Homework ~ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ House of Grace ~ Passionately Artisitc ~ Under the Table and Dreaming ~ My World Made by Hand ~ Uncommon Designs ~ Trendy Treehouse

Wednesday ~ Blue Cricket Design ~ Somedays Crafts ~ Sew Much Ado ~ Sew Woodsy ~ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~ Savvy Southern Style ~ {Primp} ~ Midweek Fiesta ~ Rae Gun Ramblings ~ Polkadots On Parade ~ Lollipop Cards ~ JAQS Studio ~ Let Birdz Fly ~ Let Birdz Fly ~ My Girlish Whims  ~ thethriftyhome ~ itsoverflowing

Thursday ~ Transformation Thursdays ~ Somewhat simple ~ Show off your stuff ~ House of Hepworths ~ Delightful Order ~ My Simple Home Life ~ Thrifty Thursday ~ DIY Diva Thursday ~ Tablescape Thursday ~ No Minimalists Here ~ Crafty, Scrappy, Happy ~ Thrifty Decorating ~ Between U and Me ~ 36th Avenue

Friday ~ The Shabby nest  ~ Show and Tell Friday ~ Finding Fabulous ~ I’m Loving it ~ Simply Sweet Home ~ Whipper Berry ~ Chic on a Shoestring decorating ~ Spunky Junky ~ Delicate Construction ~ Homemaker in Heels ~ Family Ever After~ French Country Cottage ~ Common Ground ~ Young And Crafty ~ At the Picket Fence ~ Fingerprints on the Fridge ~ Miss Mustard Seed ~ Addicted to Decorating ~Bacon Time with The Hungry Hypo ~ Making Lemonade ~ I Can't Stop Crafting ~ Over the Big Moon ~ Shabby Art ~ Answer is Chocolate