Yesterday we had Therese party in honor of her 2nd birthday!
Every time I asked Therese what kind of party she wanted to have she would only reply with "cake". So that's what I did!
I essentially made every cake-ish dish that had peaked my interest in the past year, and made it!
The Food
Menu
Starters
Cheese/Salami Plate (Blue, Brie, Herbed Brie, Gouda)
Hummus
Assorted Crackers
Fruit Salad (Watermelon, Blueberries, Raspberries)
Mains
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| Before cooking picture. I added squash to the recipe for more color since I couldn't find purple carrots. |
What is a Smorgastarta you ask? Essentially, it's a savory cake.
These were very popular in Sweden in the 70s, and have been making a bit of a come back.
I have to say I was very skeptical that this would turn out any good at all, but it really was quite tasty.
I lightly follow the linked recipe. I wanted to make it gluten and dairy free to accommodate more of our party guests. I used dairy free sour cream and cream cheese for the frosting, and cobbled together bits of gluten free bread to from the layers.
Because gluten free bread is very crumbly, I need something on the bottom layer to act as a glue. I made up a Dill Lemon spread and added that on top of the bottom bread layer with the cucumbers. Excellent choice!
My smoked salmon for the second layer fell apart when I took it out of it's package, so I created a smoked salmon spread by combining it with the mustard sauce and a little mayo to get the right consistency.
It's topped with pre-cooked shrimp, parsley, and smoked salmon.
Dessert
Birthday Cupcakes
I've wanted to make a Watermelon Cake for a while. I chopped a watermelon in half, cut off the rind, patted dry and decorated with a rice whip (to make it dairy free), sliced almonds, raspberries, and blueberries. Big hit with the kiddos!
I'm a big believer in letting kids have real sugar and cake on birthdays. It's my hill to die on.
I made cupcakes this year to speed things up.
This is my DIY cupcake stand. I take 2 dinner plates, put a cereal bowl upside down on top of one, and place the 2nd plate on top of the bowl. Voila, cupcake stand!
Decorations/Kid Space
We reused a bunch of the decorations from the Georgia Peach Engagement Party.
Like I didn't even take down the paper poofs.
Different, Dollar Tree, banner, and Matt hung some streamers along the hallway.
Keeping it simple.
Since we often have a number of crawling babies at our parties, I've been bringing out the area rug just outside the patio door and placing the block box on it. Our patio is covered with a roofing material that is very rough on crawling baby hands and knees. The rug gives them some outdoor space that stands a chance of not ripping up baby pants.
Party Time!
Little Therese had so much fun! Most of the kids are very used to playing together at church and park dates, and they all went right into their favorite games.
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| Devouring some Watermelon Cake. |
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| Auntie sent a princess dress. So much glitter! I suppose she should probably watch the Disney Cinderella now since the book version dresses look REALLY different. |
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| Grandma sent a baby doll and doll Ergo. Huge hit! Therese did get first crack but was happy to share with brother/friends. |
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Here's My Sunday Best!
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| Dress: JC Penny (I think) Wrap: Discount Dance (because it's my dance warm up...) *Not Shown* Shoes and Chapel Cap: Payless sandals, Veils By Lily. |
I got this dress for my friend's wedding this summer, and now I'm on a mission to find ways to wear it. Can't have things languishing in the closet!
Gorgeous dress and the abundance of creative cakes is amazing!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAll the food looks incredibly delicious! I never even heard of a watermelon cake, but it’s the first time for everything! So happy for you while celebrating your daughter’s 2nd birthday. Also, I’m liking the dress!
ReplyDeleteI've seen them as popular cakes that aren't cakes for little kid parties. But I'm a big fan of real cake and sugar on birthdays, so it was a fun novelty for us. :) This could be a refreshing way to do a 4th of July cake!
DeleteFacebook memories just reminded me that we had a bacon-themed party 8 years ago - it's so fun to be able to focus your food around a central theme like cake or bacon when you can! Our next big birthday bash is coming up in November and the twins want cupcakes and Peter wants trucks (they're a day apart, so they get a combined party), so we'll see how I can work that all in ;)
ReplyDeleteMy husband would be all over a bacon themed party!
DeleteI have a truck obsessed boy too! Construction parties seem to be here to stay for a bit.
I think those themes could work together.
My Dad is a mover, and once drove his truck to a little boy's birthday party in the neighborhood at his mother's invitation. They got to sit in the big truck, explore the knobs, and see what a truck bed looks like. Made his day!
This is such a neat party idea! I am a huge fan of themed parties, and I think it's cool that you got to try out a bunch of recipes that you had been wanting to make. The Smorgastarta looks and sounds so incredibly amazing! The watermelon cake seems pretty cool, too. Did you use a seedless watermelon for it?
ReplyDeleteWe actually just used a regular watermelon. You probably could use seedless. The cake only used half of the watermelon, and the other half I put in the fruit salad.
DeleteWhat a neat idea for a party theme! The watermelon cake is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors in your dress. Very pretty!
Soon-to-be two year olds are the best at theming. ;)
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