Whale look who's two!

It's been a long time since I've made my little whales and it was so much fun! I forgot just how cute these little whales were. This time around I made them for Konrad who was celebrating his second birthday. His party theme this year was All Things In the Sea and the whales were a perfect fit. You might remember these little guys from a few years ago when I first made them. It was then that I also invented my Sincere Strawberry Cupcakes which I also made for Konrad. I topped all the  cupcakes with a very generous dollop of Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

 

Along with the whales, starfish, a itty-bitty sand dollars and the cupcakes, I also made salted caramel macarons. It's only my fourth time making macarons and I have a long way to go before I'll consider myself a French Macaron expert. Each time I attempt them but I'm get a little better at it and always learn something new, so that's progress.  To go with Konrad's Sea theme I added a little pearl candy right along the edge of the cookie to help them look a little more oyster-like. I hear they were very popular at the party.

Apart from the whales being super adorable, they are also practical as they can be used more than once. Tara, Konrad's mom, saved them and some of the starfish decorations too and used them again for another birthday party the following weekend.  Isn't Konrad just the cutest little two year old? I just love his curly hair!

Tara's cuppies!

Konrad liked them! Here he's signing, "More"! Handsome and smart!

 

I'm not quite ready to share my recipe for the macarons yet, as I'm still learning myself but I will share with you the salted caramel filling I made. It was Brown Eyed Baker's Salted Carmel Frosting recipe and I highly recommend it; it's addicting! (Thank you Brown Eyed Baker!)