My baby girl just turned two and we had a lovely little tea party to celebrate!
This was my first time making a balloon arch and it was totally worth the effort and saved a ton of money. My mom is a pro at these, so she showed me how to make it. It really helps to have two or three people assembling, but they could be done solo too...it would just take a lot more time. I am officially obsessed!
This party was also the first time I made the birthday cake! My mom has always made my girls cakes, but since I have started baking and cake decorating so much since quarantine started, I thought it was a good time for me to tackle the task!
There were a lot of late nights, but they were totally worth it. I kept it pretty simple by ordering the sugar art from Caljava.com! Aren't these sugar flowers so gorgeous!? My daughter's middle name is Rose, so I knew the cakes and cupcakes had to be topped with roses! They shipped so quickly and were absolutely perfect. I got the adorable Tea for Two topper on etsy.
I had a really busy week of baking! In addition to the 6 inch stacked layer cake and cupcakes, I made these cute little 4 inch mini layer cakes. I used this simple layer cake recipe from my arsenal of cake recipes handed down to me from my mother who used to bake, decorate and sell cakes once upon a time. This layer cake recipe freezes and stacks very well. I baked all of my cakes a week ahead of time and froze them before taking them out to decorate one day before the party.
I used an almond frosting on my cakes that is made with shortening instead of buttercream because the tea party was outside. Alabama is still super hot, so buttercream wasn't going to cut it. This frosting is heat stable and so so yummy. Find it here.
My mom made absolutely perfect royal icing sugar cookies. Look at all the lovely details!
She also arranged the flowers! I can't get over how perfect this teapot vase is!
It isn't a southern tea if there aren't cream cheese mints being served! These are so easy to make and have only 3 ingredients. I have so many great memories that are connected with these mints. They really hold a special place in my heart because my late aunt always made them and she even made them for my wedding. They are the perfect little mint for any occasion.
She dug right in to her cake! I love it!
The girls had a great time, and that is worth all the extra effort in my book! We made precious memories.