Last weekend, Small Boy turned Six. It’s taken forever to write about, as a couple of the household have been in the Grip of the Grippe (flu), of which Munich is suffering in endemic proportions right now.
I guess I was asking for trouble endeavouring to make The Small Girl’s Owl Cake Pops in his presence the other week. His Lordship was hovering in the kitchen whilst they were being cobbled together, and being as Star Wars crazy as he is at the moment, he announced that he would be taking Yoda cake pops into school for his birthday. Yoda blinking cake pops…
But as each birthday comes around, and I feel ever more guilty for ripping them away from the vast majority of their family in England (meaning the poor creatures usually have to make do with their parents only on their special days), when it comes to birthday treats he could probably ask for a life-size X-Wing Fighter cake (yes his obsession is that bad that I am beginning to learn the names) and I would at least have a go at making it…
Anyway, Yoda cake pops were probably as much of a pain in the bum as it turned out. Forget any kind of coloured chocolate melt things being available here, I always knew it would be a case of food colouring and melted white chocolate, except that melting white chocolate is not always straight forward. One burned and ruined lot and a quick drive up the road to the nearest shop later, the Yodas began to take shape.
If like me you have a Luke SkyWalker wannabe in your house, and you would like to have a go, follow all the steps of “Eight” until you get to the “gluing on of the ears” part… Of course Yoda has ears on the side of his head not the top, so make sure you use enough buttercream to stick them in place and make sure they are properly chilled through before attempting to dip them in the melted, coloured (and cooled) white/green chocolate… When the chocolate is just beginning to harden, stick a couple of eyeballs on (white chocolate cake decoration things) and swear as they fall off. Repeat as necessary. Stick them back in the fridge and hope for the best. Go to bed and have a sleepless night. Get up at 5.30 the next morning and search manically for the black food colouring that hasn’t been seen since the Owls that should have gone to Specsavers. Find said food colouring and then hunt for something small enough to “paint” Yoda’ features on with. Find a toothpick – make do. Get slightly carried away trying to paint on wrinkles, and then wipe off frantically and go for the less is more option. Await the appearance of the now Six Year old (who is by now super excited about taking the Yodas into school), and breathe a big sigh of relief as he says “I think they are really good” – grateful that he didn’t see the resemblance to the aliens in Toy Story as a few other people did!!
Anyway, at least that part’s over for another year. On his actual birthday itself we went to Therme Erding which he enjoyed immensely (more on that another time!), followed by the afternoon spent building his birthday Lego X-Wing Fighter, which I reckon is much easier than any kind of Star Wars cake I can tell you!
Happy Birthday my beautiful boy. It’s hard to believe you are really really 6. However guilty I feel as an Expat parent about some aspects of your childhood, in others you are just thriving. I love watching you mix with ease with your friends from all four corners of the globe. I watched them sing happy birthday to you in the incredible array of languages you have in your class, and hoped the teachers didn’t notice me shed a tear or two . I am proud of you my sweet. If you carry on the way you are now, gentle, kind and empathetic, you will go so far.
And finally I couldn’t finish without wishing my Grandfather a Happy Birthday for yesterday, he was 92 (going on 55 I would say!)… Hope you had a great day Grampie, I wish I could have spent the day with you! xxx
suzanne3childrenandit says
Oh my gosh, these are amazing! Well done you :) Thanks for linking up to #oldiesbutgoodies – not quite the theme but ya know, adventure comes in many guises!
bavaria says
I know right. I promise to read when I am more awake next time! :D xx Thank you!
Emma @mummymummymum says
Z would just LOVE these. I might have to make some for him. They are fantastic. xx
bavaria says
Thank you! They are honestly not hard, let me know how you get on! xx
Cat (Yellow Days) says
They are brilliant! What a fab idea.
bavaria says
Thanks Cat! :D
maggy, red ted art says
Oh my goodness!! HOW COOL!
bavaria says
Aw thanks Maggy, coming from you that’s a real compliment! :)
Mum of One says
They are AMAZEBALLS! My husband would love them! Am pinning x
bavaria says
Glad you like them, they are not that difficult honest! :D
becky says
These are awesome …well done you!
bavaria says
Thank you Becky! I can forget about such cakes until next year now hooray! :D
Judith says
Incredible. I think my favourite thing about the Yoda cake pops is how they all maintain their air of gravitas, even with the straws sticking out of their heads
bavaria says
Thank you Judith! I think he would look better without the straws, but they are necessary for the “getting him green process”! :)
Funky Wellies says
They look absolutely amazing (and I bet they tasted wonderful too). Happy birthday to your little boy, and I hope you have all recovered from that horrible flu by now. xx
bavaria says
Thank you! We are indeed (thankfully!) xx
Erica Price says
They look fab. Currently hiding this pic from my nearly 6 year old Star Wars fan as I don’t fancy making these too.
bavaria says
Wise idea, although they are honestly not that hard ;) Thanks Erica! :)
Miss_Biggun says
Wow they are amazing, you are very talented..
bavaria says
Thank you…. Not that talented, trust me! :D
fivegoblogging says
They are incredible! I cannot even begin to guess how many hours they took you
bavaria says
Without all the fridge time, they didn’t take all that long! Thank you!
Trish says
I do love your recipe instructions – the ‘swear as they fall off’ is a very important point to make!
Quite simply amazing. You could do your own party cake book like Jane Asher.
bavaria says
It would contain a lot of those instructions believe me…..
shahnaz says
wow they look awesome
bavaria says
Thank you Shanaz…
Victoria says
Ah this is lovely! Xxxx
bavaria says
Thank you sweetie… xxxx
Grace says
And not a dry eye in this house after reading that my darling. He is a lucky little boy to have such a clever Mum! xx
bavaria says
Thank you Mum… xxxx
Bass says
“Good looking they are” in Yoda speak, oder Guten schauen Sie sind, or something like that
bavaria says
The German Yoda speak made me laugh a lot… Thank you! :D
A Patchwork Life says
They’re brilliant! You are so clever! Very Yoda like, with a hint of Toy Story – add an extra eye and that’s another themed party sorted!
Lovely words too. What an amazing 6 years your little boy has had – rich with new experiences x
bavaria says
Thank you… I think it’s good for me to remember that sometimes when I am missing home xx
Helen says
omg the trails we go through for our kids !!! your cake pops are truly amazing you clever lady and i hope your son knows how lucky he is to have such a talented mummy.
bavaria says
Thank you Helen xx
Brinabird and Son says
Amazing! If only I had such patience and skill!
bavaria says
Thank you… Not that much skill needed, honest! :D
Mary says
WOW!! They are just brilliant. What a talented lady you are and what a lucky boy Small Boy is. This was a really touching post. Birthdays are such a lovely opportunity for reflection, even if sometimes they are tinged with sadness because not all our loved ones are near us. (Hope you’re all over the flu now!) x
bavaria says
Thank you Mary, we are all fine now, if not a little bedraggled and grateful for the weekend! :D xx
MsCaroline says
I don’t even know what to say about the Yoda cake pops except you are raising the bar WAY too high, and I’m thankful my two are too big to expect anything that awesome. #2 turned 16 on Wednesday and we celebrated with Pho at his favorite Vietnamese restaurant and a cake at home. He’ll have a party on Saturday night for his friends and my contribution(besides all the other food) is cupcakes sporting the ironic hipster mustache (you’ll have to google it.) The cake Wednesday with one (1) mustache on it took enormous concentration. The prospect of making 24 is not very thrilling. I wish I had your gift!
bavaria says
I hope the cupcakes went well and #2 has the most brilliant party tonight! I like the sound of a Pho birthday meal too. S had dim sum for his first birthday, not his choice!! :D xx