Birthday Yummies

My littlest man turned TWO yesterday.  That is a crazy time: when the baby of the family turns two.  Wow.  Up until Wednesday, I still wasn't sure what we'd be doing to celebrate...I'm an up-to-the-last-minute kind of gal lately.

We decided on a small gathering of family on Saturday, with another small family gathering coming up later this month.  It was low key and I made almost no work for myself.  And, I realized that Bennett really couldn't have cared less!  He loved his special day just the same as if I had gone crazy with decor, cleaning, and a fancy cake.  Simple is good!

I baked some cupcakes in ice cream cones Saturday afternoon.  They were awesome!  They are perfect for little hands to eat, able to hold onto the cone as they dig into the cake and frosting.  

We baked a few normal cupcakes and one giant cupcake for the birthday boy!

To bake the cupcakes, I just follow these simple instructions from RealSimple.com:

Bake your cupcakes directly in the ice cream cones. Fill 24 flat-bottom cones two-thirds full with cake batter. Place the cones in a high-sided 9-by-13-inch baking pan and bake in two batches at 325° F for 30 minutes. Let cool, then frost with two 16-ounce cans of frosting. You can have your cake and eat its holder, too.

Any overflow around the top of the cone, I just cut off with a sharp knife before frosting.  I used Betty Crocker's Fluffy Whipped Frosting for a light, creamy texture and it was great!

The only other cool thing I did for the party was make fruit kabobs!  What a fun, summery way to serve fruit.  I will definitely be doing this for all our summer gatherings!

Happy 2nd Birthday to the Benny!