a St r Of The Show These fuss-free showstoppers will take the cake at your kids' next birthday party. PRODUCED BY LYNNE KONSTANTIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY SANDRA LANE Looking for a showstop- ping treat for your little cake connoisseur's next birthday party? From dinosaurs to dai- sies, Annie Rigg's new book Birthday Cakes for Kids (Ryland, Peters & Small; $19.95) offers fantastic —and easy-to-create with step-by-steps and dia- grams — treats that will wow kids and their parents alike. If a pirate ship or gingerbread car- ousel still sounds too daunting, start out with these super-easy celebration treats. RECIPES REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM BIRTHDAY CAKES FOR KIDS (RYLAND PETERS & SMALL), BY ANNIE RIGG. "Ice Cream" Cupcakes Tint the buttercream pink for straw- berry ice cream and scatter with sliced fresh strawberries or a couple of fresh cherries. These cupcakes are best made on the day of the party. 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 large eggs, beaten 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 11/2 tsp. baking powder 2 Tbsp. milk, at room temperature 10 ice cream cones (with flat bottoms) 10 flaked chocolate bars Buttercream Sift the flour and baking powder together, then fold into the creamed batter. Add the milk and stir until smooth. Divide the batter between the ice-cream cones and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. To make the buttercream, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract as above. Fill the piping bag with the buttercream and pip generous swirls of it on top of each cupcake. Finish with a flaked chocolate bar. Makes 10. 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 1 tsp. vanilla extract 12-hole muffin pan Piping bag, fitted with a star tip Preheat the oven to 350F. Stand the ice- cream cones in the muffin pan. Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer or with a handheld elec- tric whisk until pale, light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, mixing well etween each addition and scraping down the bowl with a spatula from time to time. Stir in the vanilla extract. P 1 6 • OCTOBER 2009 • IN platinum Meringue Mountain For the sake of your arms, make the batter in an electric freestanding mixer because it takes 10 minutes for the meringues to become really stiff and glossy. The cooked meringues will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container. 1 1/ cups superfine sugar 5 large white egg whites 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa 2 baking sheets, lined with baking parchment Pink food coloring paste Blue food coloring paste Edible colored balls and colored sprinkles Preheat oven to 400F. Tip the sugar into a small roasting pan and warm in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until hot to the touch. Turn the oven down to 225F. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites in an electric freestanding mixer until frothy. Tip all of the hot sugar onto the egg whites at once and continue to mix on high speed for about 10 minutes until the meringue batter is very stiff, white and cold. Divide the batter between 3 bowls. Add tiny amounts of pink food coloring paste to one bowl using a toothpick and very gently fold in using a large metal spoon until the color has marbled the batter. Using 2 tablespoons, dollop the bat- ter into 4 even-size mounds onto the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the blue food-coloring paste. Sift the cocoa into the last bowl of batter and gently fold in until the batter is marbled with cocoa. Sprinkle edible colored balls and colored sprinkles all over the meringues, then bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 - 1 1/4 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets. Pile up on a serving plate. Makes 12.