This year’s birthday definitely didn’t go to plan, but it ended up being fabulous as always. Growing up in my house, birthdays have always been very special and we always have the best time doing our family celebration at home. A tradition my sister and I have started is decorating our dining room for each other’s birthday and surprising each other with the decor when the other wakes up. There is always confetti, flowers, and a fabulous tablescape. I wanted to share a few photos from this year’s spread as well as share my birthday cake I made. Now I have NEVER had a birthday where I didn’t get a cake made; however, this year I felt making my own was symbolic of the year I’ve had and the success I’ve had in paving my own way and doing things myself. So I turned to none other than my grain free baking fave, Sweet Laurel. I absolutely adore her valentine’s cake which is featured on her blog. I decided it would make the perfect birthday cake, so I set to work! It tasted wonderful and I ended up running out to the store to buy a small bouquet of daises to decorate the top. I have to say I am still very proud of this gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free masterpiece. Enjoy!
I could seriously work on designing and putting together a tablescape all day long. One inexpensive and easy way to make your table instantly more fun and festive is confetti. This pink one is from Paper Source. After confetti is of course the flowers. I think getting flowers that are bigger like peonies, really amplifies the table and makes a statement. Our placemats are from Aerin. They are my absolute favorite as I’m a sucker for any and all things rattan. It instantly warms up the table. I brought out my block printed napkins I got in India a few years ago for a fun touch as well. I adore block printed anything for a table. You can find a lot of options on Etsy and if you are looking for something even more upscale, Amanda Lindroth Design has great linens.
Of course my mom’s love of great wrapping paper and cards has been passed down to me so we love finding the cutest gift wrap for birthdays. Some brands I love are Rifle Paper, Meri Meri, and Mr. Boddington’s Studio. If you are in Richmond, we always get our party supplies at Paper Plus, Quirk Gallery, or Paper Source. In New York, I love Greenwich Letterpress, Pink Olive, and Goods for the Study.
Of course I had to pull out the pink puff sleeve for my birthday. This top is from & Other Stories!
Now for the best part, the cake! I have the ingredients and brands I used pictured, but you can use any brand you have. I love buying my baking ingredients at Trader Joe’s or Thrive Market because it saves so much money. Especially with this type of baking, ingredients get expensive fast!
*Make sure your baking powder is aluminum free! :)
One other tip I have is to put a parchment circle at the bottom of your pans and also grease with coconut oil. Sometimes almond flour gets stuck to the pan :)
One tip to be aware of is that the icing is an overnight process. You need to refrigerate the coconut milk overnight so that the solids will separate and can be scooped out and whipped. One other thing that is good to note is that if you don’t have a juicer for your beet to make natural food coloring, which by the way is so fun! I suggest buying a pure beet juice at the grocery store or going to your health food store and ordering a fresh beet juice. A little goes a LONG way!
I wanted to find edible flowers but couldn’t so I researched what flowers were non-toxic and safe to decorate with. These little daisies or “asters” are safe, but we took them off to eat the cake. I just adore how it turned out and I hope you enjoyed following me through my birthday!
