The Annual Family Birthday Extravaganza!!

I'm finally getting this post out there - even if I have to stay up all night!

So, last year's F.B.E. was quite an adventure.  (That's the link to the story and pictures, it's at the bottom of the post.)  This year the party went on as planned!!  Somehow, my brother ended up dictating the theme of the party, even though he is only one of EIGHT birthdays we celebrate at the F.B.E.  (It had a lot to do with the Star Wars cookie cutters I bought from Williams-Sonoma.  It was one of those mall trips that I just went in to browse and then, bam, I've spent $80 on nothing that I needed.  It's a classic love/hate relationship.)  Well, Ben-jammin had to have the Star Wars cookies for his birthday, and of course, I had to do a Star Wars cake.  So, if anyone being honored at the F.B.E. didn't like Star Wars, they were just out of luck (*cough*Stevo*). 

Well, Benjy talked me into making a black cake.  Um.  I've heard about cake bakers complaining about dying icing black.  I would like to go on the record and say that dying icing black is not fun.  Even after 4 1/2 bottles of black icing colors, my galaxy was still not black.  It was actually a dark, forrest green. 

A dark, frustrating, forrest green.  Wasn't starting the cake off great.  But was still optomistic about making the cake look like the Star Wars crawl (the opening, scrolling back story in all Star Wars movies). 

I took the green galaxy to Columbus to finish the decorating there.  I still wasn't exactly sure what was going on the green galaxy cake, but at least by this time, the color had darkened a bit and looked mostly black.  After putting the title on the cake, I had to nail down the wording I wanted to use for our cake.  Here's what we came up with (it was a bit of a collaboration)...

Episode II

Family Birthday Extravaganza

At the close of the summer, the

Lamb clan gathers to celebrate

the lives of treasured family members. 

For Bonnie, Carol, Ellie, Steve,

Benjy, Buddy, Betsy, and Ethan,

we wish them a very Happy Birthday...

Poetic and epic, maybe not.  But we had loads of fun!

Here are the cake and cookies, and unless you're willing to pay a pretty penny, don't request these cookies. 

Betsy talking and Ellie checking out the cake.

All of the honorees!

And the thing about black icing...

It tends to turn everything it touches black too!

Good thing the taste is worth it!

I'm looking forward to many more of these FBEs!!!

Life is pretty crazy right now.  I hope to clue you in on some exciting things happening with Sweet B's soon!!  Until then, I'm happy baking...until midnight, most nights!