Fondant Birthdays

I have two good friends with birthdays right next to each other. I've found that many mom's don't necessarily get their own birthday cake. Maybe a store-bought one, but nothing super fancy for just them. So, since I am always looking for an opportunity to play with my kit, I decided to make each friend their own little cake.

I've got these great 6" x 2" pans that make the perfect amount of cake for a family to eat- just enough to enjoy a slice, without having TONS left over. The pan takes a little more than 1/3 of a cake mix.

I made Snickerdoodle Cake, one I've made before, and that I really like (but it's SUPER easy!) I then made the Marshmallow fondant. I'm totally hooked on the recipe- it cost me $0.89 for the marshmallows and 3/4 a bag of powdered sugar at $1.29 per bag, and a small amount of Crisco (yes, I do buy the name brand of this one, and an entire container is about $4, but well worth the extra money). I can't beat that cost, or how easy the fondant is to make. I just need to remember that it's better if I can leave it overnight before working with it. And, I need to roll it a little thicker than I'm used to.

Anyway, here are the two cakes I made on Saturday morning. I took me about 2 hours to decorate (frosting and fondant). Our friends shared a slice with us, and it was super yummy.

I tried to make this marble swirl,
but it looked better on the side now facing the cake.
I'm not sure how to get that better-
maybe make it less mixed?

I painted the leaves on with a paintbrush
(I keep specifically for working with fondant)
and the food coloring gel.

For some reason this cake held its shape better.

This cake is also marbled, but it is even more difficult to see.
I was disappointed in the yellow/blue marble;
it ended up looking pale green
Next time I might try yellow and pink?

I love the letter cut outs!
I'm still working on my technique
(stiffer/thicker fondant might help)

Dear Miranda loves to play with my cakes;
they were sitting out too long and she poked candles in both cakes
(not where I'd put candles)
and even made a big divot in each cake.
Luckily I was able to move the cutouts on top to "hide" the holes.

Megan and Miranda played with some leftover fondant. Miranda made a mess with it, and I'm sure she ate at least half of it. Megan made her own little "Birthday Cake". She saved it and I let her eat it over the next couple of days. Whew! It was still a lot of sugar!

Oh, and the butterfly cakes? I used a gift card I got from my Twin Cousin for my birthday to buy this great little pan that molds butterflies. I made these with the left overs: cake batter, frosting and fondant.
It's the third time I've used the pan, and I'm really impressed with how well the cakes turn out! Literally- if I spray or use vegetable shortening, the cakes seem to fall right out of the pan when I turn it over. We enjoyed these cakes, too (The girls put candles in them and we sang "Happy UnBirthday" to each other).