Brother Bear Turns 5!

I cannot believe that it has already been 5 years since I first saw my sweet Brother Bear's face! This past week we celebrated with friends and family. It was a really good day. 

My 3 littles all have dye allergies. Therefore, the traditional cakes that you buy at the store are not an option. In the past that has meant that we had white cakes with white icing and some kind of fun plastic topper to make them festive. This year I was on a mission to find natural dyes so that I could make their cakes as special as they are. 

Brother Bear requested a Ninja Turtle party complete with pizza cakes.

My search was on:

My first stop was Sprouts. I love this place! 

I found these natural dyes and decided, despite the price, to try them. 

Next, since I was making the cake from scratch, I needed to find the toppings.

I went to Aldi. They have a great variety of things that are dye-free. They are my go to for snacks.

Icing to dye for the 'sauce', white chocolate to grate for the 'cheese', raisins for the 'sausage', and raspberry gummy strips to cut into circles for the 'pepperoni.'

I was excited to get the cakes assembled and see his happy face!

Saturday, I baked 4 round 8 inch cakes. 

On Sunday morning, I started to dye the icing to make the sauce. Now, I knew that I would never get bright, vibrant colors with natural dyes, but I was hoping to get it close. No such luck. The red made it look like a flesh tone. It was almost like silly putty. I added a little orange to it to try and get it saucier looking. 

It was close enough to make a 5-year-old happy. However, I think I'll try different dyes next time, especially for the price!

Overall, I was pleased with the results. It sure beat white icing with a plastic figure! 

The party was festive! Brother Bear had a blast. 

I think I can rule this one a success!