My mother was a master of figuring things out. After my brother and I were born, instead of buying cakes for our birthdays at a bakery, she took a class in cake decorating. Every cake she made was a labor of love. You knew the party could start when that cake arrived.

She made huge sheet cake adored with Holly Hobbie, Snow White and Lowly Worm. She bought and borrowed molds for Micky Mouse, Donald Duck and Snoopy. Cakes were baked in bowls to make a princess skirt or a mermaid’s tail  on a rock. Some were cut-up cakes “glued” back together with frosting. She would use poster board for a cowboy hat rim. Around the base of a cake tulle, ribbon and or silk flowers were used to cover-up a multitude of travel misses.

Here are some of my mother’s best birthday cake tips:

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