I decided to make this awesome chocolatey cake for my dh for Valentines. I baked it yesterday and assembled it last night while my boys (aged 2 1/2 and 1 ) were asleep. This morning while I was in the shower, my two year old found the cake in the fridge and dug into the icing. Luckily I had some extra icing left over and was able to save it. This afternoon I decided to do the chocolate dipped strawberries that are going to top the cake. Well I burnt the white chocolate in the microwave, so I decided to go with milk chocolate. Well the phone rang and while I was on it, my son decided to "help". He pushed all my dipped strawberries into a big mess . I had to call my girlfriend to go buy me more chocolate and there was no way I was gonna throw out strawberries that cost $5 a pint so I washed them off, let them dry and re-dipped them. All I have to say is this cake better be worth it! I know there are other cake decorators out there with little kids, how do you do it? Thanks for letting me vent.

I have 4 at home age 10 to 1, usually I stand there decorating with the 1 year old pulling my pants down. I usually just wait till night after they have gone to bed.

I try to do most decorating after the kids are in bed but then I'm up way too late.
Last summer I was decorating a cake and looked up to see my dd ( who was just over one ) got out the back sliding door and was on the porch. I about had a heart attack thinking she was going straight down the stairs.
It's hard and frustrating with kids, I need to find a happy medium. If you do please share. =D

I don't have kids, nor do I have any younger siblings, but the older ones sometimes are worse than the 2 YO.

I can relate. I made a cake for one of my friends for Christmas. I brought it over during a playdate that my 2 year-old and her 3 year-old were having. She decided to let them have some of the cake for lunch and asked me to cut it. I went into the kitchen to get a knife and when I came back, my daughter had a mouth full of frosting! She ran her fingers up the side of the cake. I was so embarassed! At least my friend planned to let the kids have some or else I would have been even more embarassed!

I have a 6 yo and a 3 yo that always want to "help". I baked with my 6 yo for years before I started doing cakes so it was hard to tell him he couldn't help. So I found a happy medium. I let them help pour in the eggs, oil, water, etc and beat the cake batter. Then they get to lick the beaters as their reward for helping. Then they feel they have helped and are usually ready to move on to something else. I haven't had a problem with them in the cakes as I am decorating. I guess they are old enough now to know that these are special and should not be touched. I know it has got to be hard explaining that to a 2 yo. Good Luck.

Oh BC Baker, I understand! I've got 7 1/2 (ADHD), 6 1/2 (autistic) and 2 1/2 (terrible!!!). Normally I end up working when they are asleep, but then I am really tired! My 6 1/2 yo daughter Ruby came in to where I was making brownies yesterday and LICKED the batter that was in the 9x13 pan!!! YUCK-A! She doesn't do too well. They are afraid of the sound of the mixer, so sometimes (BLUSHING BECAUSE I"M TELLING YOU THIS) I run the mixer with nothing in the bowl to keep them out. And I always give them the beaters as a reward for staying out of my hair. But, they get into ALL KINDS of trouble.

I made tootsie roll roses, and my 2 1/2 year old came through and ate 3 of them while I was in the bathroom (she hopped the gate, didn't know she could get over THAT one!!!)

OHH! I almost forgot to share. I've had my experiences w/ little kids ruining cakes too. My bridal shower cake was punched by a kid causing a huge indent in the CAKE!!

I so know what you are talking about! I have a DS who is 2 1/2 and a few months ago I had done a cake with chocolate transfers. They were snowmen and he loves snowmen, so before I had a chance to move them, he picked them up and broke 2 of them!!

I'm a SAHM so during the day I always want to do the decorating, but it is just too hard. I usually do the baking during the day, and wait until my DH comes home to do the rest. But I always make sure to put the cake up high enough so the next day there aren't any "accidents"

I feel your pain!!! my son is two as well, and a few weeks ago woke up before me and came out of his room (he climbed his gate), anyway, dug his little fingers into the cake i stayed up all night making!!! i about died! lucky for him he looked so adorable with his face and hands covered in icing saying "mmmmm mommy, i wowwy"(sorry). needless to say, from now on all cakes will be completely out of reach. but when i'm decorating, he loves to stand around me and sneek icing when possible (hence the pic).

decorating + kids = one tired up too late mom!! LOL

I have 3 kids 4 and under... it's fun!!

that's what I do a lot too, that and stay up til the wee hours!!

They have become well trained though!! just keep working at it. LOL

I usually promise my 2 older ones that they can plan with the left over icing in bags and/or fondant if they are really good when I'm making the cake!! that has worked really well, even at their your age.

My son is 20 months old. My husband and I have huge fights over it because I'd like him to watch our son while I work. I don't mind my son being in the kitchen when I'm baking but I can't concentrate to decorate when he's around. We are working on it and my husband is getting better at watching him.

Oh..and like everyone else, I usually decorate when he's sleeping. haha

I have 2 boys - ages 5 & 2. I usually get the baking done and all my icings mixed and colored and bagged. Then, when the 2 year old goes down for his nap, I can get it all decorated. I prefer to do it during his nap because I don't like being up too late!

I actually MISS the days when my kids (all grown up now) "helped" Mommy make cakes. Enjoy it, it doesn't last long.

It's so hard! I have a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and twins who are 4 months old. I do my baking when they're awake, but only decorate when they're sleeping. That's difficult because my husband works nights, but we make it work! I wish I had a big secret tip. . . or that someone had one for me!!!

I have a 6 year old and a pain in the neck 3 yr old. My 3 yr touched one of my cakes once.....lets just say she will NEVER do that again

ok.. i just saw my own post and that doesn't sound good. I wasn't that mean...I just have this look I give my kids and they know they are in big trouble. That look alone sends them to time out......

My youngest ( of 5 ) is 15 months old,i have a childproof gate across the opening of my kitchen so i can happily bake w/out worrying about her touching the oven & i usually leave the decorating 'til she's asleep or spending time with her dad

Although I don't have a story to share about how you cope with little ones whilst doing cake, there is a silver lining with "helpful" little ones.....

Although I never did decorated cakes when my boys were little, I was a SAHM so they cooked and baked, licked and destroyed stuff in the kitchen with me from the time they were toddlers.
Now, they are grown men and both FABULOUS cooks who can do anything in the kitchen and have impressed fiancees and girlfriends with what they can cook and do in the kitchen.

I too decorate until the wee hours of the morning. I work about 45 mins away so it's about 6:15 when I get home from work (if I'm lucky). By the time the little one (3) is fed and bathed, it's almost 8:30 and time to begin decorating. He really wants to help so every few weeks, we make cookies that he can help cut and decorate....we leave them out to dry (I toss them and make another batch b/c he usually coughed, sneezed or something over them) and enjoy them the next day. It helps, but doesn't remedy the situation.

I've resorted to tying belts onto the refrigerator door to keep him out when there's a cake in there. Last time he swiped his hand across a basketweave cake, I had to call my husband home from work. It would have been a sin for me to punish him - I was so angry!

yes, i have 17 month old twin boys and i have to wait until nap and bed times to bake and decorate. which of course, keeps me up later than i like. i'm sure i will miss it when the boys are older. right now, they are my best customers! they love to eat mommy's practices!

I have a 20 month old and a 4 year old (both girls). I too bake when they're awake and try to do most of the decorating while they nap or after they go to bed.

One thing I do with my 4 year old to keep her out of my hair is to let her decorate her own cake. I always bake an small extra cake with any left over batter (either a cup cake or a 4 inch round). I give her her own icing and let her create her masterpiece. She stays out of my "stuff" and will sit and decorate her cake for about an hour. And then you don't have to worry about them eating your cake - they have their own and they can touch, lick, or take a bite out of without any worry...

A few months ago when I started getting busy (and learning as I go about how to make mmf), I had my hands full of mmf ( I don't use the mixer, I make it by hand) when my dd, age 3, started calling me from the bathroom "mommy I'm done!" I said "you wipe", she said "I can't", and so on, and so on, I ended up having to wash my hands, go in and wipe her (she knows how to do it herself, just when she feels like it). Afterwords, washed my hands again, and proceeded. She came in the kitchen and said "Mommy, I don't like you doing cakes. Because when I need to be wiped, you HAVE to come!!" what a little stinker!
Now, she's getting used to me being busy. A lot of times, I will give them (I have 3 kids, 8 and under) my scraps and some frosting and let em go to town on their own creations and eat those. It really seams to help them not poke my cakes!

I have a 4 yr old that is ALWAYS trying to leave his fingerprints on the sides of my cakes (In my gallery I have a few).The thing is that I never see him doing it.I usually wait till late at night when he's sleeping and I am more relaxed.

There are some great ideas on this thread!
I have a 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter and I decorate and bake in the daytime while my son is at prep. I get my little girl to pass me the eggs while baking and when I decorate I will cut some extra pieces of the different coloured fondant and let her eat those. I also sit her down on the ground outside the kitchen and give her playdough and she makes little pretend cakes with it. Today she was making a present box cake just like I did yesterday! It was so cute I could have actually eaten it..playdough and all!
The only other thing that used to work was taking my kids out to a playground for 2 hours early in the morning and running them til they dropped, coming home and letting them watch a movie or do craft while I got my decorating done. Then in the afternoon, they had all my attention again and they never minded me working!

[quote] ( I don't use the mixer, I make it by hand) when my dd, age 3, started calling me from the bathroom "mommy I'm done!" I said "you wipe", she said "I can't", and so on, and so on, I ended up having to wash my hands, go in and wipe her (she knows how to do it herself, just when she feels like it).

mdutcher,oh how I feel your pain!!!

My boys are 5 and 7 so if I leave cake tops out for them to sneak (they think I don't know) they are usually content to watch from a far. But when they were wee little ones and I was in the kitchen I had a few tried and true methods.
1. the tupperware drawer had no lock. All the rest were off limits so they thought it was great when they'd discover one open.
2. I'd set up a little stove, made up with buckets and the camping pots and pans. Insert raisins and cheerios and a couple rubber spatulas and I'd get a good hour before they were under foot again.
3. Once they were old enough not to eat it, I'd get out the playdough. Not something we do alot because it get's messy so it's still entertaining for a long time even now.
Other than that naps and bedtime are about the only time anything else would get done. crisseyann is right, I've already started missing my little helpers and I HATE to share the kitchen.

Ok, must join in... I'm one of those mom's that stays up late after the kids are in bed. Yawn!!! Usually bedtime is around midnight or later depending on the project and if I had a chance to bake and at least crumb coat anything.

I'm a SAHM with 4 kids, a 6 1/2 year old, a just turned 5 year old, a just turned 3 year old, and an 18 month old that thinks she's up there with the 3 year old. Anyway, if I try to deco with them around I must have a separate bowl of icing for the little ones so I can dip spoons in over and over so they can have their 'lick mommy, lick... ' but then I feel bad because I'm giving them so much sugar, yet I keep some of my sanity. My 6 1/2 year old can't wait for the cake as he dislikes icing... he wants all my cake trimmings! My 5 year old, she only gets upset when she doesn't get the beater to lick off, then it's fight between her and the 3 year old. The 18 month old just sneaks in to swipe whatever she can,.. but somehow I've been lucky (knock on wood) that they haven't gotten a cake yet. However my 6 1/2 year old was throwing a ball in the house (mini-football), which is against the house rules... and I caught it just before it landed in one of my cakes. I'd love to say he's learned about not throwing the ball in the house but he hasn't, but he does stay clear when I'm decorating the cakes.

That's it for my horror stories... I count my blessings after reading some of these posts,.. all four of them! I feel for all of us moms! I'm right there with you ladies! I guess we just have to hang in there. My MIL always says 'This too shall pass.' and she's right.