Shots On The Hood

Shots on the Hood

Life passes by so quickly. We all say it from time to time, especially as we grow older. I could use this as an excuse as to why I haven't blogged lately, but the truth is - I was writing a novel. I got so caught up in the story line that my site suffered. Funny part was - my novel is all about a zombie apocalypse. ironic how my last blog was all about cream filled goodies and Zombieland. I can at least say I'm consistent. So, it's been awhile since I've written.

The holidays have come and gone. The Christmas tree was up, then down, and put away for another year. My New Year popped its head up and then quietly went back to sleep. And suddenly, my little boy's birthday is coming around the corner. Only he isn't a little boy anymore. He is 21. He passed 10 (double digit importance). He passed 13 (teenage alert). He soared past 16, 17, and 18 and finished high school. I think I blinked while he was in college, those years raced by me and knocked me to the floor. When I found my balance and stood up again, Jay was 21.

When your son turns of legal drinking age, he usually doesn't celebrate his birthday at home with a nice party. He goes out drinking with his buddies. They buy him drinks and he comes home drunk with a bad headache and a fascination for the chilly porcelain toilet in the bathroom. As a parent, we expect it. We don't reprimand him; we don't ground him (he's 21 - what good is that?). We smile and bring him a glass of water with aspirin, knowing full well what is coming in the morning. We've been there - we did that.

I expected the same from my son. It was a rite of passage. I was a little disappointed and sad at the same time. It would be the first year I didn't make Jay's favorite "funfetti" cake decorated with some theme of monsters, television, or anime character. The party was to take place at a comedy bar in Burbank. Everyone would eat, drink, and watch a bunch of comediennes take their 5 minutes of fame on stage. It was all so grown up - no helium balloons, no festive plates, no singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles. I held back the tears as the traditional birthday celebration took its last deep breath and gave up its life for the sake of adulthood. I surrendered too.

My son, however, was not ready to give it all up. He had his own ideas of how his 21st birthday was going to go down. Jay had decided years ago that when he turned the legal drinking age, he was going to party like his favorite singer, Ke$ha. He was going to brush his teeth with a bottle of Jack, wear his ripped jeans, dance with glitter on the floor, and do "Shots" on the hood of his car. Jay stayed true to his childhood - a new theme for every birthday. Birthday traditions were not dead. They were resuscitated and I was ready to keep it alive. Jay challenged me with finding a way to make a cake that was Ke$ha worthy and befitting of one of her songs.

Challenge accepted. In order for Jay to complete his whole fantasy, he had to "do shots on the hood of his car." I knew it was illegal to drink alcohol in a public forum (in a garage in downtown Burbank), but not to eat cake. Cake Shots were thus created. I began by researching shot glasses and found out that they are not oven proof. Someone tried it once, but the results were sketchy. I couldn't take the chance. If one broke, all would be ruined. I knew then I couldn't bake cake in the actual glasses. Instead I baked a large sheet cake in a 9X13 inch pan. I made sure the height of the pan to was comparable to the shot glasses I bought, with a little extra room at the top for frosting. This was going to work. I baked the cake and let it cool completely. Then I began to have some fun.

Once the cake was cooled, I flipped it out of the pan and onto my large flat cookie sheet. (You can use a piece of cardboard too.) I then pressed one of the shot glasses into the cake like a cookie cutter into dough. I gently lifted the glass making sure none of the cake was missing. If the cake began to stick, I gently pulled the shot glass to the edge of the pan and lifted it up. I could then press the cake into the glass easier. If the cake rose very well, you only have to do this once and the shooter is full. If your cake is thin, you may have to do this twice to double up the content and make it full. It happened to me and it was easy to fix.

Once the glasses were filled, I made my frosting and decorated my new creation. Jay always enjoys my white almond frosting with his funfetti cake, so that's what I made. To complete the Ke$ha theme, there had to be glitter. I sprinkled gold and clear edible sprinkles all over the top of the shooters. I have to admit - they definitely looked festive and I would like to think that Ke$ha herself would be proud. For Jay's birthday, I bought miniature numerical candles to put on top of his shot glass and bought a few ice cream spoons in order to scoop the cake out of the glasses. I did manage to personalize the shooters by writing on them with Sharpies. (One more touch of Ke$ha I thought.) I boxed up the little cakes for traveling and I was done! Jay checked them out and loved it! With a gold glittered tablecloth and his fur vest and sunglasses, my son was ready for his 21st birthday - Ke$ha style. 

Directions for Cake Shots

Personalize shot glasses with a Sharpie before filling for best results.

Bake your favorite cake in a 9X13 inch pan. The cake can be from a box or your favorite recipe. Bake according to the directions. Let cake cool completely. Flip cake over on large cookie sheet or flat piece of cardboard. Press glasses into cake like its a cookie cutter. Remove and set aside. Continue until all glasses are full.

Decorate with your favorite frosting. Jay's favorite is my homemade Almond White.

My frosting recipe:
1/2 cup of shortening
1 Tablespoon of Almond Extract
1/2 cup of milk
16 oz. of confectionary sugar

In large bowl mix together shortening and extract. Add half of the milk. Mix thoroughly. Add half of conf. sugar and mix completely. Add milk and then conf. sugar again, beating after each addition. If frosting is too soft or thin, add more confectionary sugar, one tablespoon at a time. If frosting is too thick, add more milk one tablespoon at a time. Consistency should be fluffy, but thick enough to stay on a spoon. If you don't like almond, use clear vanilla instead.