Elmo Birthday

Remember my other coworker Diana, who was preggers last year? I made her the elephant topper mini cupcakes for her baby shower last year, and was asked to make baby Nic's 1st birthday treats this year! Babies grow up so incredibly fast! It makes me feel old...

I was asked to bake Elmo cupcakes and a small smash cake for Nic to, well smash. For the Elmo cupcakes, I used the "grass tip" to create his furry face. It is a lot of piping, but you don't need to worry about perfection here! His mouth is half an oreo cookie (I went through lots of cookies trying to get that clean cut, because they would crack). Don't worry if it's not a completely perfect cut, because you can cover it with frosting. For the nose, I used an orange peanut M&M. The eyes were piped on and dotted with a candy-covered chocolate like these, which can be found at craft stores.

 Mama Diana went ALL OUT (with the help of Auntie A) in planning an Elmo-themed birthday party.  There were so many details that were well thought out. They did an adorable job! Gotta love Pinterest, right?

 that's a lot of Elmos...

The smash cake was a 2-layer 6" cake covered in buttercream and sprinkles. The letters of his name were made of fondant pressed into molds, which can also be found at craft stores. The top border are sprinkle stars made by Wilton.

Nic was really intrigued with the smash cake at first, but then I think he got grossed out. He did get a couple of good smashes in before he lost interest, though! If you look carefully, you can see his tiny handprints!

Happy Birthday, Nic!