Birthday party menu please help

If u store them right you can keep cake fresh for days so u can make it ahead .here is the info of storing them that i got from net:

• Unfrosted and Un-Cut Cake - Wrap these tightly in plastic wrap, top, sides, and bottoms, so the plastic is touching the sides of the cake (that is to say, don't just drape the plastic over the top). Second to this, go for a plastic bag with a "zip-lock" type seal. Store these wrapped cakes on the counter at room temperature, and they'll keep for about a week before starting to stale on you. Oil-based cakes tend to keep a day or two longer than butter-based ones.


To keep cakes for longer than a week, try freezing them.


• Frosted and Un-Cut Cake - The frosting actually acts like plastic wrap here, protecting the cake from air and moisture in the environment. A frosted cake can be kept at room temperature for 4-5 days. Cover it with a cake keeper or an overturned bowl to protect it from dust, pet hair, and other things in the air (plastic wrap isn't necessary and would smoosh up the lovely frosting). Parks says that she actually keeps her frosted cakes in the microwave!


• Cut Cake, Frosted or Unfrosted - Parks says to think of sliced cake as a living organism. As soon as you make a cut, moisture begins to escape and cause the cake stale more quickly. If you can, cover the sliced edges with more frosting to protect the cake from moisture loss. Otherwise, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the sliced side and make sure it sticks. Then proceed with covering and storing the cake as for the un-cut version. Cut cake keeps for a little less time, about 3-4 days.


• When to Refrigerate Cakes - Cakes both frosted and unfrosted, cut and un-cut, are perfectly fine at room temperature for several days. Refrigeration is only necessary if your apartment gets very hot during the day (As Parks says, "High moisture + high sugar + high temp = bacteria feeding frenzy") or if you're making a cake that won't be served for more than three days, like when baking cake ahead for a party or special occasion.


To refrigerate, wrap unfrosted cakes in plastic to protect it from absorbing any weird fridge smells and to protect it from drying out, and then unwrap it to warm up on the counter before serving. For frosted cakes, chill the cake uncovered for fifteen minutes to harden the icing, then wrap it in plastic wrap.

 

For my daughter's first birthday the return gift was a loaf of pound cake for each family (kids got seperate return gifts). I baked 15 of them as we had 12 families. About 5 every weekend over 3 weeks. I packed them in plastic, then with aluminium foil and put them in small birthday printed loot bags and stored them in the fridge. They stayed and tasted fresh. For the actual bithday cake, I did the same, baked 3 round cakes about 4 days before the party but layered and frosted only the day before. Everything tasted great. Hope this helps. Enjoy your little one and the party.

 

I have frozen unfrosted cake for upto 6 months! I bought sheet cake from Sam's Club to make a special birthday cake for my son. They would only sell in sets of 4 half sheets. So used it all the way from December for his birthday to July for DH's birthday. Just remove it from the freezer about 4 hours prior to frosting it.

Another item you can make ahead of time and freeze (If you are mixing the rice to the masala) would be to make the masala for the biriyani ahead of time and freeze it. Remove it before cooking and mix it again in a kadai with the rice.

Raita: You can cut the cucumbers and onion and freeze. Another option would be aloo raita. This is easy since you just boil the aloo in the cooker and cube it. And then add it to the curd.

Chutney is another item that can be frozen. Make sure when you remove it for defrosting DO NOT defrost in the microwave. Store it in ziplock bags and immerse them in bowls of warm - hot water.

I was like you and did all the cooking for my DS's first birthday. HUGE crowd and wondered at the end of it how I was so crazy to do so. But was glad I did it....that's really all I could offer him for the party

Happy birthday to your LO

 

Considering it is summer, may not be advisable. Potato spoils very fast. You could boil, peel and mash (not with hands, but with a potato masher) the potatoes a day early and freeze it as soon as it cools. You can also slice the onions and freeze.