Monkey Cake

I'll be the first to admit I got overly excited about my child's birthday party this year. He turned two, which rhymed with zoo, which was enough incentive for me to capture the moment and have a party at the local zoo.

For those familiar with the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, birthday parties used to be held in the little depot next to the snack bar where the little train picks up passengers.  At least that's what I remember.  So I was pleasantly surprised to show up and find us instead in a huge, gorgeous room in the new Discovery Center with warm wood decor and big windows looking out into the cottonwood trees.  

Of course, with any zoo party, you have to go with the theme.  I ordered zoo invites from Shutterfly with matching zoo address labels. I found these cute animal masks on Amazon for the kids along with little zoo rubber duckies. And yes, even the cake was to have some zoo appeal. 

When I read this post on Smitten Kitchen with the banana monkey cake, I knew I wanted a monkey cake for my little monkey.  I also knew that I have a full-time job, a full-time child, and a big dislike of cake decorating.  Combine those factors and this monkey cake looked like a pain in the keester to actually assemble. I'd rather just make banana cupcakes and stick plastic Curious George faces on them and call it good.  

Oh look, Amazon has plastic Curious George faces too.  Click - in the cart. 

However, when I told my wonderful amazing talented mom about my plan, she insisted that she wanted to try making the cake.  The whole cake, with the pinned-on ears, homemade frosting, the whole kit-and-caboodle. "Ok, go for it, but seriously, cupcakes will be totally fine.  Don't trouble yourself, it's just a little get-together, really." 

Yet magically, right before the start of the party, the monkey cake appeared and it was delicious - rich and thick like only homemade cakes can be, with a distinct banana flavor and a sweet chocolate frosting that just screams "BIRTHDAY" to me.  But in the end, as yummy as it was, the monkey cake was just a side note to the real star of the show: my now-two-year-old little monkey. 

If you want to tackle your own monkey cake, check out the original post on Smitten Kitchen here.