This is what my nephew said when asked what he wanted for a birthday cake this year. (He turned 3 in January.) My sister and I were very amused at this. At the last minute, he changed his mind and wanted a happy snowman. It was excellent, just the same.

Cake making/frosting is a skill I am still learning, but it is fun to practice.

Step one: trim the cakes.

I had two round chocolates and a round of lemon (which turned out very thin, hence the stacking.) Trimming cakes = yummy snack time!

Another view of the trimmed cakes.

Step two: apply crumb coat.

The cakes were just from store-bought mixes, but the frosting was homemade. I must admit, frosting is so easy to make that I doubt I'll buy it again. So much tastier, too. Plus, I'll take butter over partially hydrogenated whatever oil any day, thanks.

Step three: spread the rest of the frosting in a nice, thick layer, joining the edges of the cake together.

Another nice thing about homemade frosting: I had just the right amount for the cake, without running out *or* having gobs and gobs of extra.

Step four: give snowman chocolate chip face, chocolate-covered peanut buttons, and pretzel arms. He is a happy snowman, indeed.

When the birthday boy saw the cake, his first comment was "Snowmen don't have pretzels for arms," since he is will aware that their arms are made of sticks. He is quite the connoisseur of "Frosties." I assured him that it was ok, since these were pretend sticks for a pretend snowman. He seemed mollified at that.

Step five: light candles, sing "Happy Birthday" and let the child blow them out.

He did an excellent job of getting them all out, and without spitting on the cakes. Then my brother introduced him to the joy of licking the frosting off the ends of the candles.

It was a delicious cake, and I was very happy with how it turned out. Nothing fancy, but exactly what the occasion required.