Bowling Birthday Cake

This past week we celebrated Hayden's 5th Birthday.  On Saturday, we had a small party with a few of his friends at a local bowling alley.  Bumpers abound and barely breaking 100, they all had a great time.

In light of the bowling theme, my *creative* side got the best of me.  I actually baked a cake and decorated it with a bowling theme.  If I must say so myself, I thought it came out rather cute (toot-toot).  And the best part of it is it literally only cost me $6.00 (the main ingredients for the cake not included because items are already in my pantry)! 


I bought the frosting, fruit by the foot, bowling ball/pins decorations, sprinkles, and frosting writing pen at Dollar Tree. 

Ingredients (Simple White Cake recipe from Allrecipes.com)

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Sprinkles

2 fruit by the foot

1 vanilla frosting

1 chocolate frosting

1 bowling/pins figurine set

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan.
2.  In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth along with sprinkles. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
3.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
4.  Insert toothpick in center of cake.  If toothpick comes out clean, cake is done.
5.  Cool for several hours.  (I cooled overnight).
6.  Once the cake cooled, take your chocolate frosting and create a strip down the center of the cake, leaving about 4 inches on each side.  This is your bowling lane.
7.  Slice the fruit by the foot into small strips and lay on each side of the lane as the bumpers. 

8.  Take the vanilla frosting and frost the remaining area of cake.
9.  Add stars around edge with the writing pen using the star tip.
10. Add the bowling ball and pins in the lane.

I thought about making a second cake because our church is having a cake auction this evening BUT I have something else up my sleeve instead.  You will have to visit again real soon to check it out.

Happy Birthday, Hayden!