How to Make a Cake for a First Birthday

A child only has one first birthday, and you will want to make that special with a cake. Your child will most likely not remember the cake when he gets older, but you are certain to have pictures of the cake you made for his party. He will appreciate that you took the time to bake a cake just for him for his first birthday. To decorate the cake, you could use store-bought cake toppers, but that will not be necessary since this cake is decorative in its shape: a giant number "1." Since it is baked as individual cupcakes, serving the cake is simple, with no cutting involved. Flavors for the cake and icing can be adjusted to your personal tastes. This is a chocolate cake recipe that starts with a mix to save measuring and mixing time. The icing is made from scratch. Be sure to have plenty of towels on hand when you serve this cake to wipe off the chocolate-covered faces of your new 1-year-old and his friends.

Things You'll Need

• Paper cupcake liners
• 2 muffin pans (12-muffin capacity)
• 1 18-oz. package white, vanilla or yellow cake mix
• 1 3-oz. package cook and serve chocolate pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp. chocolate syrup
• 1/2 cup oil
• Ice cream scoop
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 16-oz. box confectioner's (powdered) sugar
• Large, flat serving platter, at least 24 by 12 inches
• Birthday candles

Instructions

Make the Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the cupcake liners into the cupcake pans.

3. Open the box of cake mix and pour the contents into a large mixing bowl.

4. Add the box of chocolate pudding mix to the cake mix in the bowl.

5. Crack the eggs into the measuring cup. Check to see that there are no shells in the eggs, then add them to the cake and pudding mixes.

6. Add the milk, chocolate syrup, and oil to the mix.

7. Beat the mixture with an electric mixer, starting at the lowest speed. This will prevent the cake mix from flying around the room. As the dry ingredients become moistened, increase the speed of the mixer to medium.

8. Mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes, then increase the speed to high and mix for another 2 minutes, until the batter is smooth and silky.

9. Use the ice cream scoop to pour the batter into the cupcake pans. Place 1 scoop of batter into each of the 24 paper-lined wells.

10. Place the two cupcake pans in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer, toothpick or knife inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.

11. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan completely before frosting and assembling the cake.

Make the Icing

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the shortening, vanilla and powdered sugar.

2. Begin mixing with an electric mixer on low speed. As the powdered sugar becomes incorporated into the shortening, increase the speed to medium low.

3. Continue to mix the sugar and shortening for about five minutes until it is light and fluffy.

Put the Cake Together

1. Remove the cooled cupcakes from the pan.

2. Spread icing on top of each of the cupcakes before arranging them on the serving platter.

3. Arrange the cupcakes on the serving platter in a large "1" shape. Make a horizontal line of six cupcakes at the bottom, then a vertical line of eight cupcakes that starts at the middle of the bottom line. At the top of the vertical line, make a shorter line of four that comes off at a 45-degree angle on the left side. Set extra cupcakes aside for later or to be served once the "1" cupcakes have been eaten.

4. Add the candles, light them, and serve the cupcake cake at your child's first birthday party. You will not need to use a knife to serve the cake since the cupcakes are single portions.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not have a large serving platter, you can substitute a large piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. You can add other decorations on top of the cupcakes if desired, but do not use hard candies or other small decorations, which could choke very young children.