a tale of golf and cake

Tomorrow will be my husbands 31st birthday, woo hoo. He is officially over the hill not just standing on it lol. A few more hills to go but the first one has almost been tackled. I however cannot sympathise as I still have a few more years in my twenties and Im considering staying this age for awhile, but I wanted to do something special for the old man. We don't really know enough people to justify a party and as is typical, he bought his own uber expensive present a few days ago (this happens every time he is due a present lol). I wanted to make the day special and give the kids something to present so I suggested we make him a cake. We always make him a cake, the same cake he has had since he was 5. I was given the recipe from my MIL the day after our wedding (along with all his favorites typed up in a cute little recipe book). He isnt much of a dessert guy but he does love this one so I try and make it for him every year. Usually I let the kids decorate it but like i said, i wanted to do something beyond the usual so we looked through some online pics and decided dad would love a golf cake. I'm sure their choice had something to do with the fact that we had just spent weeks in golf lessons and getting fit for the kiddos custom clubs, golf was on the brain. So golf it was.

I had no clue where to start but i figured a golf course cake seemed easy enough. Technically that is a lie, i knew exactly where to start. I have two friends who are the queen of cake. One just moved to Korea and had just given me a lesson on dyeing and dealing with fondant and frosting decor before she moved. The other is still in the US and I can get a hold of her pretty easily so the first thing to be done was to hit up Holly for tips and support. She gave me some great advice and links to get started. It all seemed easy enough (no doubt it would have been for Danielle and Holly) but things arent always what they seem lol.

First I knew I wanted to make his favorite chocolate sheet cake. Its a bit different than the standard version, thinner, more moist and flavorful, and features a hot melted frosting poured over top (this really makes the cake). I knew hot poured frosting would not make a fab golf course but i put that aside. I figured if the golf cake was fab enough, beau could deal without the usual frosting. I whipped up the cake yesterday with the help of the trusty Kitchen Aid. Normally I name my friendly gadgets, but this one is the one an only gadget that I truly believe has been adequately named straight outta the box!! :) i was really excited to get started so last night I went ahead and mapped it out cutting the green, the sand traps, and the water out of fondant and moving them around till they were in the perfect spot.

This morning we got up, went to swimming, stopped at the store to pick up the rest of the ingredients I would need for the frosting and grabbed a caramel macchiato just to make sure I had enough energy to finish the job. I whipped up some Hungry girl BLT quesedillas (amazing btw!!!) for lunch and planned to get started on the cake. I estimated that it would take an hour or so to add the fairway and the rough and then put the finishing touches on our course du jour. Uh huh.......

I started off with the rough. I wanted to get a much darker green than I used for the putting green. Holly had warned me about the cheap dye so I got the good stuff. I just used a smidge for the green fondant putting green so i assumed just a smidge more for the butter cream grass to complete the rough and fairway. I also had a dilemma at this point. Buttercream frosting is great, but is just isn't "chocolate sheet cake" style. I really wanted choc frosting so I went for it. I didnt look it up or ask my buddies (i did run it by the mil who thought it would not be a good idea). I left out the vanilla and tossed in a bunch of cocoa right into my green butter cream. I worried it would ruin my color but wow! it looked and tasted perfectly, and I was thrilled! So yes, that green grassyness you see above is chocolate. I used a Wilton grass tip and began applying it to my masterpiece.....but we had probs....the frosting was too thin, the grass blades were melting into a ribbon shape and didnt look like grass at all. Beau would be home in a few hours, there was no time to make more frosting or buy another tip so I had to improvise. I didn't even google! i just dumped in a bunch more cocoa and sugar and made a much thicker version of the previous grassy green mess. This time it was perfect! but what I didnt factor in was how much more work it would take to push this grass on. Can we just say, ARM CRAMP! I had to take breaks to nurse the baby and shake my arms out lol but a mere 3 hours later I had a dark grassy rough, a lighter fairway and a smooth putting green. The PGA would be proud!! the kids were thrilled with my work, informing me multiple times they never thought i could make a pretty cake etc etc..........HATERS!!!!

After a good arm shaking session I realized it was time for the finishing touches. I really just wanted to quit. I was covered literally in green frosting from my fingertips to my elbows, in my hair, all over my chest, it was even on my feet. I had become the hulk, i was exhausted, i felt as if i had run a marathon.....but I had come so far to quit now....Beau would be home in an hour or so......In true army wife fashion I did what we do, I sucked it up and finished the cake :)

There was no time to search the net for tips etc so I had to wing it at this point. I painted a bit of water on my lake and shimmered it with blue sugar crystals in a flash moving right on to the sand traps. I mentioned going for the pricier Wilton dye but what I didnt mention was that it only got me so far. A nice rich spring green, way to similar to the putting green, so I had to use my leftover cheap dye as well, and then a few other colors, to make the variety of greens for the rough and fairway. A nice artificial Wilton blue was used for the water. My friend Jen would take one look at this bright colored work of art and head for the hills nauseous no doubt (she like many other people smarter than me, has successfully cut out all artificial dye) , but like i said, we are moving on to sand traps. If you have a friend like Jen and decide to make this cake just remember the sand traps are safe! I dyed the fondant with a smidge of cocoa powder giving it the perfect sand color and made the sand texture with some organic dye free cookies crushed and sprinkled on top, so Jen, on your way home from Alaska stop by and have a sand trap with me :)

I used crushed organic oreos for the hole and shark fin ( What golf pond doesn't have a resident shark? ) and Piper polished off a Dum Dum to help me out with a stick for my flag then our work was done.

well almost, a mother's work is never done. I then had less than an hour to shower, clean up the hulk explosion left in the kitchen, and prepare dinner (hungry girl buffalo chicken quesedillas YUM)!!

All in all it was fabulous, Beau loved it, the kids loved it and it only took a mere 6 hours outta my life. its bound to be easier and faster the next time right? well worth it either way :)