Milk and cookies bar & a choc chip cookie monster cake

Every Friday on Expresso we've been giving moms and dads out there fresh ideas for kids birthday parties (something besides a done-to-death fairy princess or pirate party). And this past week, Expresso's art director, Matanna Katz and I created a milk and cookies party, and boy, did we have fun! When I think milk and cookies, I think COOKIE MONSTER! So I created an 'om nom nom nom' cake that he would approve of and I couldn't believe how easy it was to create. So, if you're stuck for a birthday party theme? You're welcome.

THE TABLE: Styling by Matanna Katz, Photography by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

THE CAKE: Cookie!-Om nom nom

And cookie monster cupcakes...

Cookie monster and I even wore matching outfits. 

The Milk Bar

Strawberry and chocolate milk

Are these not the CUTEST?! Moo.

So many cookies!

Baking up a storm!

Choc Chip Cookie monster cake

Makes 1

225g Stork Bake

4 extra large eggs

15ml baking powder

500ml castor sugar

750ml cake flour

250ml water

1 cup chocolate chips

Frosting

250g Stork Bake

500g icing sugar, sifted

Blue gel food colouring

For decorating and assembling

White fondant/plastic icing

2 round black sweets

Chocolate chip cookies, for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks and beat well. Fold in the dry ingredients and water in 2 batches.

Beat the egg white until stiff and fold into the cake mix along with the chocolate chips.

Pour into 2 greased round cake tins and bake for 45 minutes.

To make the icing, beat the Stork Bake until soft and as white as possible. Gradually beat in half the icing sugar and then beat in the rest then tint with blue colouring.

To assemble, place most of the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle (or if you have, a grass and hair nozzle).

Place one cake onto a cake plate or board and top with the other cake, using icing to sandwich the two together. Cover the entire cake by piping icing onto the cake to look like fur.

Roll two big balls of white icing to make some bobbly eyes and press the black sweets into each. Arrange a few chocolate chip cookies on the cake to look like the cookie monster is eating them.