Firefighter Cake

Once I learned of the glories of adding dry ice to a birthday cake, I couldn't resist. My first creation was a volcano cake, complete with red lava frosting and dry ice smoke cascading down.  When my son turned 5 last week we celebrated with a Burning House Firefighter Birthday Cake.

I built the house out of gingerbread, since a cake house seemed too wobbly.  I put in plenty of doors and windows for the smoke to pour out, and gouged a big hole in the roof.    The roof hole was originally intended to be a smoke hole, but our trial run demonstrated that the dry ice goes downhill, so we switched and put the fire up top.

For good flames, I stuck lots of birthday candles together with their ends nested in playdough for stability.  The roof was removable for easy lighting and dry ice pouring.  I used frosting to stick on pretzels to give the house a log cabin look.  Seemed more authentic than just a candy gingerbread house.

Then I placed the entire house on a flat 9 x 13" cake and arranged the toy firefighter crew and fire engines (and dalmatian) to come to the rescue.  They were well out of harm's way and didn't get sticky at all.

Add hot water to the dry ice, light the candles and Voila!  The smoke poured out the windows and added a realistic golden glow with the flames above.  Needless to say, the children were fascinated and we did science experiments with the extra dry ice afterwards.

I'm not big on presents, but I do love experiences.  This was a memorable birthday experience that delighted all ages.

How do you make a special day memorable for you or your family?  What was a favorite birthday experience?