the train party
It's Arlo's 4th birthday tomorrow, and yesterday we had a 'train party' for him. We're lucky enough to have a model railway in our town which includes a train museum and a few tracks with small trains that children and adults can ride on. The tracks wind past a park, the modeller's pond, a couple of 'stations' and through a tunnel. We had afternoon tea with some family and friends there, in the afternoon sun. Thank you for coming, everyone, and making it such a special day for Arlo.
Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the children riding the trains, but I did get a picture of the work of art that was....
The Train Cake:
This was my idea, but Tom did most of the work. He's so good at the details like icing the cake (harder than I thought!), and cutting the pieces into something which actually resembled a train. I took the easy way out and bought plain sponge cakes, and made up a couple of batches of icing. We used oreo cookies for the wheels, and crushed a couple to look like 'coal' in the tender. The other cars had logs (kit-kat bars) and milk bottle sweets in them. We made tracks from straps of black licorice. I covered the board with waxed paper, but underneath placed blue fabric, with a smaller piece of green fabric on top to look like the 'Island of Sodor.' (yes, we have one of those Thomas the Tank Engine-obsessed boys. Still...)
Although it's by far the most elaborate cake we've made yet, it has nothing on the cakes shown here. Some of those are quite outrageous, but it's a good resource for getting ideas. Also, this site was helpful for party ideas.
Because that cake was purely 'for looks' we also made a carrot cake for the grown-ups to eat. There's one piece left, so that will be nice for morning tea today. Thanks, Kirsty, for the inspiration, and others for your tips on freezing carrot cake after my last post- good to know they freeze and keep well.
I realised I've made this every year for Arlo's birthday, and the recipe in my hand-written book is looking well-used- it's covered in oil and bits of dried mixture- but it is a great one, so here it is:
Carrot Cake
4 free-range eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable/olive oil
juice of one lemon
2 cups plain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 tsps cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup crushed pineapple (optional)
3 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or sultanas
Beat the eggs, sugar and oil with an electric beater or by hand until thick and creamy. Fold in all the other ingredients carefully, and mix. Pour into a waxed paper-lined tin (makes quite a big cake- I use a round spring-form tin) and bake at 180 degrees Celcius for around one hour. Ice with cream-cheese icing when cool.
Cream-cheese icing
1 pottle of plain cream cheese (I used a 250g container)
1 cup icing sugar
juice and rind of one orange (or lemon, or a few drops of vanilla extract)
Soften cream cheese, then blend all the ingredients together, in a food processor or by hand.
Happy birthday to Arlo, what a lucky guy and look at all those friends, he must have really enjoyed himself!
I love the idea of a train party. How lucky for you to have that great venue to make it perfect. And both cakes look very yummy. I'll be trying your carrot cake recipe for sure. Mmmmm, cream cheese frosting....
Posted by: Krista | June 18, 2007 at 11:52 AM
Aha! A carrot cake recipe without coconut - excellent, thank-you (my mother maintains it is essential to include coconut - and, as she seldom fails to remind me, her carrot cake has won prizes. Pah!).
The party looks great, such a wonderful thing for a Thomas-mad kid. Does Ringo Starr still do the narration (if he ever did in NZ!)?
Posted by: alice | June 18, 2007 at 12:24 PM
happy birthday sweet arlo! i'm off to make a carrot cake i think! so good. so very impressed by your train cake as well!
Posted by: heidi | June 18, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Happy Birthday Arlo! I hope you enjoyed your party and I really like your train cake.
Posted by: Megan | June 18, 2007 at 12:48 PM
Looks like a great party! The cake looks pretty incredible- reminds me of the cakes in the Australian Women's weekly Birthday Book. Every year we would choose our cake out of there. Thanks for the carrot cake recipe, it made my mouth water just reading it. Will def be trying it out in the next few days.
Posted by: Jessicah | June 18, 2007 at 12:53 PM
righto, I'm off to bake a cake!
Posted by: esther | June 18, 2007 at 02:11 PM
Happy Birthday, sweet Arlo! And congratulations Tom and Melissa on four years of parenting.
xx
Posted by: rachael | June 18, 2007 at 04:36 PM
Happy birthday to Arlo - or "Gratulerer med dagen" - as we would have said in Norway :)
Posted by: Hege | June 18, 2007 at 05:45 PM
sounds like a lovely day Melissa :o)
the train cake ws really cool...I miss having a little guy that loves Thomas the Tank Engine....my boy is now a budding man at age 11 and everything is Star Wars, pocket knives and how fast can I run Mom?.... LOL!
Posted by: Lori | June 18, 2007 at 06:09 PM
mmmmmmmmmmmmm carrot cake.... mouth watering...
Posted by: Bethany | June 18, 2007 at 06:50 PM
Happy Birthday Arlo.....
Love the Train Cake. Love to see the different combinations people come up with.
Yours looks great.
Posted by: Fiona | June 18, 2007 at 06:58 PM
Happy birthday Arlo! Looks like a fun party. Wish I was there. ;-) yummy cakes!
Posted by: Fiona L | June 18, 2007 at 07:29 PM
Ha ha! That's such a cool looking cake melissa! You did ever so well! As for that carrot cake, well, it's certainly a favourite of mine. As my Mum always says, 'A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!!'
Posted by: Alison | June 18, 2007 at 09:27 PM
What a fantastic party! we have a little train museum in our town, as well. They offer up train rides for the little ones. Because mine are out of that stage we've never actually gone but occasionally when I go to get coffee from the Starbucks I see kids on the train. My mom use to be a cake decorator and my birthday cakes when I was a kid were always a treat for the eyes. Arlo's is, too. He will have fond memories of this day for years, I'm sure. (you've now set yourself up for "fabulous cakes" every year, I hope you know;))
Posted by: Dawn | June 19, 2007 at 12:21 AM
happy 4th birthday to arlo! what a fun day!
Posted by: kirsten | June 19, 2007 at 12:49 AM
Happy Birthday Arlo.
Posted by: carolyn | June 19, 2007 at 05:46 AM
Happy birthday to Arlo!
That is such a cool cake that you made him!
Posted by: Chara Michele | June 19, 2007 at 07:15 AM
Happy birthday!!
The cake looks wonderful!
Posted by: Mirre | June 19, 2007 at 08:34 AM
Happy Birthday Arlo- Four years old! Looks like you had a great party and cake!
Posted by: Taimarie | June 19, 2007 at 08:54 AM
Happy Birthday to Arlo!!! My son loves trains also. 4 is such a fun age. I can't wait to try the carrot cake. It sounds so yummy....hopefully this weekend.
Posted by: karrin | June 19, 2007 at 10:58 AM
Happy birthday sweet Arlo.
Well done M and Tom on surviving four years of parenting, and also on the fantabulous cake. Hope you guys had a lovely day today. x
Posted by: rhiannon | June 19, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Looks like a really lovely day and thanks for the recipe - can't go wrong with a good carrot cake!
Posted by: Kate | June 19, 2007 at 05:25 PM
A belated happy birthday to Arlo - tell him my mum says hi...she a 'real live' train driver and will toot her horn 4 times loudly next time she drives,in honour of Arlo turning 4!Great job on the cake!I will have to give the carrot cake a try - I always enjoy your recipes so much!
Posted by: mariannealice | June 19, 2007 at 11:33 PM
Happy birthday to Arlo! I love that name, btw. Looks like a smashing time! Lov ethe train and the carrot cake looks amazing.
Posted by: Regina | June 20, 2007 at 02:49 AM
This is too weird: Yesterday I was in the mood for carrot cake but couldn't find a recipe (although I did spend a lovely hour scouring my books...). And here is a perfect recipe! Thank you, thank you.
And what a good mom you are: that party looks like such fun.
Posted by: Marcelle | June 22, 2007 at 03:18 AM