Birthday, Part 2

We had a small family party for Erin's birthday on Sunday. My parents and sister were here and Ben's parents and a couple of siblings actually drove down to join us as well. We were happy they were all there. Dinner was simple but I agonized for weeks about Erin's cake, don't ask me why. I think I'm dilusional because she will probably only remember what we show her in the pictures. Anyway, I finally decided to combine a couple of recipes to make this sort of layered apple spice cream cake with apple cider frosting and dulce de leche in the middle. Erin loves apples so I though it would be fun for her. The cake actually turned out yummy and moist, which I wanted, and it wasn't too sweet. My favorite part was the filling though-you just don't get any better than dulce de leche. I decided not to frost it and instead try my hand at marshmallow fondant-you've got to try everything once right? Although it was a fun endeavor in which I learned a few things, I'm not sure I'll use it again. I'll have to get better at frosting things the old fashioned way, I guess. Here's my attempt at fondant:
























MMMMM cake....

And on a side note, Erin had her 1 year check up yesterday. She is a whopping 18.25 lbs and 29 inches long. She's happy and healthy, well mostly healthy, and the doc says she's perfect! Well, we think so anyway.