Darth Vader Cake

Icing Smiles is a great not-for-profit that arranges for volunteer cake decorators to provide special cakes for critically ill children and their siblings. This is the first cake that I've had the opportunity to make through them. I actually was pretty nervous about it, because this is the first cake I've ever made that wasn't for family, friends, or a nationally televised competition.

I'm told Moises was really happy with it, so I'm happy, too.

Emperor Palpatine Whoopie Cushion Cake

My niece and nephew and I play a game called “Emperor Palpatine Whoopie Cushion.”  I don’t remember the genesis of the game.  Essentially, the kids put imaginary whoopee cushions on a chair and then I, as Emperor Palpatine, sit on the chair, make a farting noise, and chase them around the room shouting about how I’m going to destroy them.

So, for his fifth birthday, Sam requested an Emperor Palpatine whoopie cushion cake.  Here is what I came up with.  The steps, the chair, and the lower portion of Palpatine’s body are cake.  The upper half of Palpatine is rice krispie treats.  I used a little recording module from Radio Shack to record the sound, triggered by a button under the seat that was depressed when Palpatine sat down.

This may be the silliest cake I’ve ever made (which is a pretty high bar), but it was also perhaps the most entertaining.

Star Wars cross stitch

Apparently I've suddenly decided that I cross stitch now.  So for Christmas, I made my niece and nephew Star Wars cross stitches.

When I put them to bed, I often sing Garth Brooks's The River.  The chorus begins with, "I will sail my vessel, until the river runs dry."  Alex made up her own lyrics: "I will fly my X-wing, until there's no place left to go."  So I turned it into an inspirational cross stitch for her.

Another song that I often sing at bedtime is the Rainbow Connection, from the Muppet Movie.  Sam is very into beautiful colors and he dressed as pink Darth Vader for Halloween, so for him I made this Darth Vader - Rainbow Connection mashup.

Star Wars cake

For her seventh birthday, Alex had very specific cake specifications.  She wanted a cake being cut in half by a light saber with “Jedi trainers” around the sides. The only Jedi trainers she could specifically name were Yoda and Obi-Wan, which isn’t surprising, because she’s only seen Episodes IV, V, and VI. So I found a picture of the Jedi Council and went with that.

The light saber is a combination of poured sugar and pressed sugar with a string of LEDs embedded in it. The handle of the light saber is gum paste.  The Jedi trainers are also gum paste, hand painted with food coloring. I’m particularly pleased with the candle light sabers.