Monday 22 December 2008

Happy Birthday

I knitted this pair of booties for my younger child while he was still save inside my tummy. Earlier this year, I found them hidden in a huge pile of baby clothing while I was sorting through the various items to give to my newborn nephew. I guess I hardly let my child worn these booties as seven years have passed and yet they look as good as new! I was a little sad when I wasn't able to find the other pair that I made for my elder child :'(

While we went through a rather dramatic emergency cesarean section when the elder one was born, the birth of my younger son was rather 'uneventful', although his was also a cesarean birth. I remembered when he was 3 days overdue I was still hoping for a natural birth. I had this thought that I would be a 'lesser mother' if my child is not able to arrive to this world via the 'proper channel'. My doctor had advised me not to wait any longer than the next 3 days, and he hinted that I would probably have to face a double whammy if I insisted to wait for a natural birth.Those words have finally convinced me that I should go for another cesarean section. We decided to wait till the ultimatum date for the operation plus it was considered a 'good' date, since it is so easy to remember 21-12-2001! It was also such good timing as the three of us were able to bring home on Christmas day what turns out to be our fountain of joy. Since that day, he has given us so much joy and laughter.


It was a couple of weeks ago when we were at their cousins' place, my boy pointed to a Domo Kun flush toy and told me he would like me to bake him a Domo Kun cake. You may not be familiar with this hilarious-looking creature, even for me (I do keep myself very up to date with the latest cartoon characters and toys!) I have only seen it on tv once. It was a short animation and was aired to fill the gaps between programmes. If you are interested, you can read more about this weired looking creature here.

Fortunately, Domo has got very simple features...two popping eyes and a humongous mouth with sharp pointed teeth. Since it would be my very first attempt to make a 3-D cake, I told my boy I would give it a try, although he better be prepared that if things don't work out, we would have to go for plan B...ie to get those ready-made cake from the nearby bakery shop.


Since I do not have a large pan, I made the cake by baking two separate sheets of sponge layer. I drew a template on a baking paper and used it as a guide to cut out the sponge cake. The sponge layers were then filled with whipping cream and peach slices (according to the boy's request!). The surface was coated with a thin layer of chocolate ganache and I took two chocolate-coated coffee beans to make the eyes. I melted some white chocolate and added a drop of food colouring to form the mouth. The teeth were simply cut out from a bar of white chocolates.

This must be the ugliest and yet most adorable cake I have ever made!


It is no surprise that my boy received a Domo Kun flush toy on his birthday. I compared it with the cake I made, and I realised that I have made the teeth too huge and the entire mouth should have been sunken. Anyway, my boy was very happy with the result, to him it looked perfect...and the cake grabbed the most paparazzi attention during the party!


The boy had such a wonderful time...he was so tired and felt asleep in my arms while giving me his goodnite hug ;)

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Happy Home Baking

I like the Domo cake. It is so original compared to when you purchased from the bakery.

Happy belated birthday to your 2nd boy.

Wishing you and your family a splendid festive season and a good start to Year 2009!

Anonymous said...

HHB, I could feel you joy in the posting. You are such a wonderful mummy and go all the way to fulfil the boy's wish!

Happy Belated Birthday to your boy! And Merry X'mas to you & your family!

Fion

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi HHB,
What a beautiful cake you have made!! I can understand your joy after you have made the cake. It really looked like the real thing!
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to you and your family!

Anonymous said...

HHB, the cake is simply so cute! You are such a great mom! Here's wishing you and your family a merry merry xmas!

I hope that in time to come when i become a mother, i will be like you too!

- dust

Anonymous said...

I love the Domo-kun cake! So kawaii! :D

Happy belated birthday to your lil one. Such a beautiful post with a beautiful story you shared :)

sherlyn said...

Hi HHB,

Happy Belated Birthday to your boy.

Kid's birthday cakes are always cartoon looking .. no matter how far the cake differs from the original, as long as our kids are happy, we as mothers will be happy.

Yuri said...

Hi HHB

Reading this post brought a smile... wonderful cake and I applaud your effort. Happy Blated Bday to your boy.

Anonymous said...

Another masterpiece. You are so creative!

The cake is unique and priceless, it is filled with love from a mum.

Anonymous said...

You're an awesome MUM!

Happy Belated Birthday to your Boy!

Sarah said...

Very cute cake! Lovely story. :) Happy birthday to your boy!

xox Sarah

Oleagopoly said...

Hi HHB!
I've chanced upon your blog in search of recipes, and i can't help coming back again to read your blog!! =) (btw, i tried the peach tart. didn't look as good as yours, but yes, the recipe gave very rich taste! thanks!)

Lovely entry about bday. the knitted socks are cute!! your kids must be so proud to have a mum like u =)

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Hi HBB

Very cute cake, priceless indeed. I do not know this particular character but a check with my nephew and he's able to identify it instantly, in fact he envies your son for having such a nice cake.

Your children are so lucky to have such a wonderful mother.

As the year draws to an end, I must say a big Thank You to you for being so generous in sharing your baking experience. I am guilty of sponging off you, have been inspired by your posts and have learnt so much from you.

Here's wishing you and your family A Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Baking Fiend said...

such a cute cake! LOL... kids nowadays have weird taste dun they?

HHB, wish you and yr family and merry christmas and happy 2009!

Rei said...

Happy belated Birthday to your boy! The cake looks lovely. Happy Xmas to you and your loved ones.

Anonymous said...

Now u cannot argue with me when I say u deserve Mother-of-the-Year Award hor!

Anonymous said...

Ouuuuw, Charmine luvs Domo-Kun! ^-^

Anonymous said...

happy belated birthday to your son, what a cute looking birthday cake! happy holidays to you too.

MH said...

Your cake looks very cute! Coincidentally, I also went for emergency "C" section for my 2 kids! Happy belated birthday to your younger boy! :)

Anonymous said...

What a cute cake! Happy belated birthday to your boy!

Jon said...

Hi HHB,

Been folloowing your blog for some time, happy belated birthday to your younger son. 2112 is the same for my 1st boy

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Jon, happy belated birthday to your boy too!

Anonymous said...

Hi HHB,
Just wanted to say I copied your idea and made a Domo cake for my Eldest's b-day. He must be the easiest character to make into cake. Being not as talented as you, I used boxed cake mix baked in one 9x13inch pan plus one 8x8inch pan. The whole big cake was his body, and I cut the smaller cake to make his legs & arms. I covered all with canned frosting, added icing eyes & mouth, then flattened & cut marshmallows for the teeth. All the kids recognized him at once. Thanks for the fab inspiration! :)

Jo said...

omg! :)

just wondering, can you bake a cake like this for me? :) about 2kg!

how much would it be?

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Jo, I am sorry I don't bake for sale. I am not a professional baker ;)

Ange said...

Hi HHB!

Its me again. I've recently just commented on your Tiramisu Charlotte cake and I've had a great success with it thanks to you! :)

Sorry I've got to bother you again. I've been tasked with a Domokun birthday cake like yours for a friend's son. Can you tell me how did you shape the cake, esp the hands of Domo? Can share your recipe for the chocolate ganache, mine seems watery? Lastly, how did you get the shape of the mouth with white chocolate, was it moulded in something? Really sorry for so many questions and thank you in advance! :)

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, as mentioned in my post, I drew a template on a baking paper and used it as a guide to cut out the sponge cake. I melted some white chocolate and added a drop of food colouring to form the mouth. Spread the melted chocolate and leave it to harden and trim the sides. The teeth were simply cut out from a bar of white chocolates and placed/stick on the mouth with some melted chocolates. For the ganache I melt 200g dark chocolate with 1 cup heavy cream. Hope this helps.

Ange said...

Thank you for your reply! Just a quick clarification... Did you cut out the baking paper and put it on the cake as a guide to cut out the shape? I'm so sorry I didn't get you 1st time round.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Ange, yes that's right, I used baking paper as the template, place it on the sponge cake to cut out the shape. The hands are actually separate parts from the body as my oven is too small(only 20L) to accommodate the whole shape in one piece.

Ange said...

Thank you so much for your reply HHB! Really appreciate it very much! :)

Anonymous said...

how big is this cake? and if i do have a large pan how big should i use? thanks alots :) oh, and how do i know how much amount do i need to use for the sponge cake. thanks :D

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, I baked this cake using a swiss roll sponge cake recipe (see under my cake recipes). I baked two separate sponge layers. I cut out a paper template and used it as a guide, I did not measure the size. You can make the cake according to the size you want.

Anonymous said...

oh, thanks alot for the help :) anyway if i wanna make a coffee fav whip cream. how do i make it?
the chocolate ganache on this cake when u done just leave it at room temp or put it in the refrigerator? sorry for asking so much question. :) thanks

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, I am sorry, I have not tried making coffee flavoured whip cream so I am not able to comment.
I chocolate ganache is left to cool off and then used immediately. The frosted cake is then kept in the fridge. Do not store the ganache in the fridge as it will harden.

Reira said...

Hi HBB,

The domokun cake is so cute!!

My son was happily staying inside my womb too when the date is almost due. My gynae would not want to wait any longer and decided to do a induce birth 3 days before the estimated delivery date haha. The reason why is I am small size and my son was quite big from the scanning - 3.4kg. But the machine seems to be off as his birth weight is 3.24kg.