Guest Blog: Making a Mice-filled Birthday Cake by Nicola Pravato of Next to Nicx

Sasha and I have a very important mutual acquaintance. Lily recently turned three and this great achievement deserved a suitable celebration. And what is a celebration without cake? (Ed’s note: You can see why I like this girl.)

Meriel (Lily’s party planner and mother) commissioned a cake after seeing one I created for a party my husband and I held in August. Although I am somewhat perplexed as to why she’d have wanted one after seeing this cake. It was slowly melting in the sun and whilst I suppose that the melting, slowly tilting, Mad Hatters top hat shaped cake lived up to its un-birthday theme, I was quite unimpressed with it. But Meriel had faith and a promise extracted from me to create a cake (or at worst, a very nice trifle) before I’d even completed cutting the first piece.

The lovely lady M had a very specific idea of what she wanted for Liliput’s cake. It was to be a cake in the shape of a bed and needed to contain three little mice (cute ones, not the scary stand up on the chair and scream type) with room for three candles behind the pillows. Everything else she left up to me.

I was a little worried: I am no pastry chef. Other than the Mad Hatter’s cake, I’d not decorated a cake in well over 5 years! And I’d committed to creating two within a week of one another. But after a mild panic attack (and some very thorough planning) this cake came together quite easily.

I made a layered white chocolate cake with gluten free flour. (I am unable to eat gluten and so try to avoid baking with it.) In preparation I’d created an additional batch of modelling chocolate when I was making Meriel’s baby shower cake. So after filling and frosting it in pink buttercream, I used this to make the blanket, mice, pillows, headboards etc. In total it took me about 13 hours (I tend toward being a perfectionist). [Ed’s note: no sh*t]

Unfortunately my husband and I were unable to make it to the party, but Meriel tells me it was very well received and that as of last Wednesday the mice had not yet been consumed. But I’ve yet to meet a lady (no matter what size) who can abstain from chocolate for too long…