These were the birthday cake and cupcakes I ordered from Anna Banana’s Online Bakeshop for my son’s 1st birthday last December 2010.

I started searching for online bakers 3 months before the event. Before sending out emails, I checked each and every photo album to make sure I’m making the right choice. I’m into details, I want them as “pulido” (polished) as possible.

I asked Ms. Anna for a quotation in October and informed her about the party theme (Japanese/Anime/Naruto/Cosplay). I requested for Naruto cupcakes like the ones below but she declined. The design is too complicated and the theme is completely new to her.

So instead of Naruto, I considered having kawaii characters as accents. The kawaii concept is also Japanese so it still fits the party theme. Kawaii is a Japanese term which means “cute”. Cuteness seems to be a highly valued aesthetic quality in Japanese society and particularly Japanese pop culture.

Since I was in full control of the party planning, knowing every single detail of what’s gonna happen that day seemed boring. I needed something to surprise me with, something that’s not written down nor planned. So, I allowed the baker to freely design my son’s birthday cake and cupcakes. My only concern was them turning out to be too cute and almost girly. On the contrary, the outcome was perfect. Anna did a great job making them look “kawaii” for a birthday boy.

Zaiel’s 8″ cake in banana-chocochip flavor.

I preferred fondant because there’s a limitless opportunity to be creative with decorations. I also like the smooth, shiny finish over the traditional soft butter cream frosting.

I didn’t expect the cake to be heavy, its weight was like equivalent to two large cakes in Goldilocks. It was moist and yummy too. Sulit talaga!

These are the kawaii cupcakes in mocha and banana flavors. CUTENESS overload!

Anna delivered the cake and the cupcakes an hour before the party, just enough time to set up the cupcake tower stand. Thank you so much!

I won’t put up prices here. You may just contact Ms. Anna through her Multiply site (annabananna72.multiply.com) and Facebook page (facebook.com/Anna.Bananas.Bakeshop) for a quotation. In the meanwhile, feast your eyes on some of her other mouthwatering creations below. Enjoy!

Check out my other blog entry for a list of online bakers: Online Cupcake Bakers

          xoxo,