Several months ago I made a cake for my niece’s birthday. By request from the birthday girl, I made a cake for her party in the theme of Dora the Explorer. Additional requests included using her favorite color (purple) and incorporating her favorite candy (M&Ms). My mother-in-law provided the M&Ms, which she had had personalized for the occasion. The cake was a chocolate cake with mint Oreo butter cream filling. I forgot to take a picture before bringing the cake to the party, so the pictures below were taken in the parents’ bedroom, where we held it until we unveiled it as a surprise during the singing of the happy birthday song. The birthday girl was overwhelmed by the surprise, a little boy exclaimed “oh, I looove it!” and a little girl immediately stuck her finger into the side of it to get a piece. So, all in all, a very successful birthday celebration!