Doc Cake--The Fabulous Hudson Hornet (This post is about 2 1/2 years late...oops!!)

My wonderful son turned 2 today!! He is amazing in pretty much every way!  He makes me laugh, gives me smooches, and challenges me with his inquiring mind!  He also loves CARS, the movie.  He loves everything that has anything to do with cars in general.  When we see a red car, it's Lightning McQueen.  If we see a green car, it's Chick Hicks  (and he reminds us that he's mean).  This has been going on since about 18 months old or a little before.  When I started planning his 2nd birthday party, I really thought we would be doing something "sporty", however as the party approached, I quickly realized that CARS was the ONLY option.  I began asking him what kind of cake he wanted.  I thought the only options would be Mater or McQueen, but my little guy surprised me and said, "Doc Cake!!!".  He was so certain about this that he reminded us every day for about a month.  My husband and I began teasing him about it and asking about every other character, he would smile and then say, "Noooooooooo, Doc cake.  Mommy teasing.  Daddy teasing."  He just cracks us up with his sense of humor!  Anyhow, this is what we ended up with.





I used 2 9x13 cake pans and stacked those on top of one another and then used a loaf pan and put that on 2/3 of the way back on top of the two.  I used a knife to round out the corners and carve out the hood.  I then made homemade frosting in a variety of colors and "painted" the car.  Titus was convinced I was painting him, which I thought was a great way to explain frosting a cake!

This homemade frosting recipe came from my friend Katie!  I've only known her since 2008, but it seems like we've known one another forever!  I love having her as my friend! We both love making homemade buttercream frosting for our kiddos' birthday parties and we have tried several recipes---this one is light, fluffy and pretty much perfect!  I only mixed it for 3 minutes the first time and that was not nearly enough time, even though it seemed like forever.  If you're not happy with the product, just beat it for a few more minutes!

Homemade Frosting-- I double this (so a box of butter and a 2 lb package of powdered sugar)
1 Cup Butter-Softened (REAL BUTTER)

 

3 1/2 Cups Powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
Mix softened butter, powdered sugar, and salt until fully combined (this works with a hand or stand mixer).  Once it is fully combined add milk and vanilla and beat for 5 minutes (or longer).  The more time it beats, the more air it has, which makes fabulous fluffy frosting!