A Frozen Party Menu
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Ready to let it go? How about a Frozen screening party complete with a family-friendly menu and a Frozen cake? This party menu works for birthdays and other celebrations as well.
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If you’ve lived on this planet for at least a month, you’re well aware that Disney recently produced a hit, animated musical. Frozen, the story of two sisters with a terrible family secret and how true love conquers evil, debuted Thanksgiving weekend.
My dad took us all to see it at the theatre. We all enjoyed it. But, I admit that I was shocked at WHAT a HIT it became — with boys and girls and adults, too! I took the FishChicks back to see it again on New Year’s Eve. And the other littles were a little miffed that I didn’t take them along.
I’m thankful that I ordered my Elsa and Anna dolls for the girls’ Christmas presents in early December because six weeks later, the Elsa doll could not be had for love or money. Well, if you didn’t want to spend less than $100 for a glorified Barbie doll.
Almost immediately, the FishChicks and their cousins, Ella and Lucie,were smitten with the film as well as the soundtrack. Yes, I was the wise mother and auntie to buy copies of the Frozen soundtrack for BOTH households. Not only can the cousins drive their parents crazy, but they can also FaceTime with each other, singing the songs all the while.
Yes, really.
It’s actually very sweet, especially considering that these two sets of two sisters live thousands of miles apart.
DIY Frozen Costumes for Elsa and Anna
My boys get into the act as well. FishBoy13 does a mean impersonation of Olaf, and the middle guys know all the songs as well.
My nieces, Ella and Lucie, whose birthdays are both in January, celebrated jointly with a Frozen Birthday Party. As you know, Janel created some awesome Elsa and Anna costumes for each of her girls and because she’s SUCH a wonderful auntie herself, she will be making costumes for the FishChicks as well. Ahem.
Since you know how much I love a themed birthday party and birthday cake, I couldn’t pass up creating a Frozen Party Menu and a Frozen birthday cake to go along with. Whether you’re celebrating a little princess, the end of winter, or a home-screening of the film, this menu will take you far.
I texted Janel my suggestions and we went back and forth thinking up ideas. We both ended up buying these Frozen Dolls for decoration. (I love using toys for cake toppers.)
Since the Frozen princesses are from Norway, and my own little girls and nieces are so enraptured with the film, I feel a special kinship to Elsa and Anna. My grandfather, Sigurd Borge, emigrated via Bergen back in 1905.
(I loved the fair, freckled skin of the sisters in the film. I don’t recall ever having seen that detail in a Disney film.)
So, what could you serve at your Frozen party that is in keeping with both the film and its Norwegian heritage? Let’s see.
Main Dish Buffet
Now you could go super traditional and serve lutefisk, but I don’t recommend it. Instead opt for easily obtainable, kid-friendly items that fall under the category of “snacky”. Whether you’re hosting a screening party like we will be doing in a few weeks or celebrating a birthday party, your guests will enjoy having familiar types of foods, even if they’ve got a little Scandinavian/Northern European twist to them.
Set up a buffet with the following:
- Jarlsberg Cheese
- Flatbread Crackers (aka Crispbread), like Kavli or Wasa
- Rye bread or other rustic breads
- Ham and Salami
- A fruit tray, particularly berries and apples
- A carrot tray with a Sour Cream Dill Dip.
All six kids looked at me and asked, “Why carrots?” Sheesh. Didn’t any of you people watch the movie?!
Leave me a comment if you know why I included carrots. 😉 Sour cream and dill are common flavor combos in Scandinavian cooking, so there’s that.
You can also tip your hat to the film and throw together a platter of tea sandwiches since those are Anna’s favorite food.
Oslo Kringle
Some Sweets
If you can get your hands on authentic lefse, do so. That would be a fun addition to the party. When my Gramma John, Sigurd’s daughter, passed away, my dad gave me her lefse grill and the other tools to go with. But I passed those on to a cousin when I realized I had no one to teach and no idea how to do it. (I think I also had three kids under 6 so I was happy to be surviving, let along making lefse.)
Anyway, our family recipe for Oslo Kringle is an easy and authentic sweet treat to add to your party table. Chocolate Truffles and Chocolate Fondue are a nice nod to the film. And of course, you need a cake.
A Frozen Cake
This Frozen cake is perfect for a birthday party or just a fun way to break up this ETERNAL WINTER that some of you are experiencing. I think it was Janel or one of her friends that came up with the idea of an ice cream cake. Brilliant! And so easy.
Just for the record, the whipped cream snow is supposed to look rustic. It’s a blizzard. That means that you don’t have to make a Pinterest-perfect cake.
(And all the angels sang Hallelujah!)
The following recipe shows you how to make the cake from scratch. If you prefer, you can use a boxed mix, storebought ice cream and commercially whipped topping. But, honestly? This really isn’t hard.
Did I forget anything?
Frozen Birthday Cake
Equipment
- Elsa and Anna dolls
- Olaf doll
Ingredients
Brownie Layer
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup neutral oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ice Cream Layer
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Layer
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
Prepare the brownie layer:
- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and whisk to blend. Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir gently to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan.
- Bake until a tester comes out with few crumbs attached, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
Prepare the ice cream layer:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the cream and vanilla.
- Freeze in the ice cream machine according to the directions provided by the manufacturer of your particular machine.
- Once the ice cream has thickened, pour it over the brownie layer in the pan. You can also use store bought ice cream, if you prefer. Just soften it until spreadable, spread it over the brownie layer, and continue with the recipe.
- Place the cake pan in the freezer until firm. Once firm, remove the sides of the springform pan.
Make the whipped cream snow:
- In a large mixing bowl combine the whipping cream and sweetener. Whip the cream on high speed until medium peaks form.
- Frost the cake with the whipped cream and freeze until ready to serve, up to 3 days.
- Allow the cake to soften just a bit before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Serve your cake with a raspberry sauce to take it over the top.
- Changing up the ice cream flavor gives you lots of options. Consider: chocolate, coffee, fruit sorbet, or mint ice cream.
Such good memories of this cake!
Yum! This looks delicious. I don’t have an ice cream maker. How much store bought ice cream does your homemade recipe yield? 1/2 gallon?
I think that would be sufficient.
So glad I found your post, particularly the link for the Elsa & Anna figurines as cake toppers. I’ve been looking for those everywhere for my daughter’s birthday party this Saturday & that specific listing was not an option when I searched on Amazon (just ones that were $70!!). I just purchased them after clicking on your link & they should arrive Friday — such a lifesaver!! I’ll be making some version of this cake also. Thanks again for the tips!!
Yay! That’s great! I’m so glad. I hope it’s a great party!
I have to tell you about the party I just attended with my daughter. It was a Frozen themed party and included some of the ideas here and from other blogs but a unique thing that the mom did was to find an Elsa and Anna look alike to portray Queen Elsa and Princess Anna from Disney’s new movie Frozen. These 2 girls (sisters in real life) from a company out of Atlanta were spot on look alikes and absolutely gorgeous girls!! Another unique thing that these girls did is to come out and actually PERFORM!! I was floored! They were SOOOOO GOOD! First Elsa came out and performed Let it Go and then Anna came out to join Elsa in a duet and perform For the First Time in Forever. Then the girls lead some wonderful themed games and activities. Then they gave the whole group of party guest the chance to come up and sing ‘Let it Go’ with real music and microphones. I have never been so impressed as I was with these girls and this party. My daughter already has asked me about Elsa and Anna coming to their party in December. I can’t wait to start planning.
My daughter just turned 18 and is planning a Frozen themed party in a few weeks. She is just a kid who refuses to grow up! LOL! We had some of the same ideas that you did. We also are planning on putting crinkled aluminum foil down the center of the tables with blue/green/pink netting down the center of the tables on top of the foil. We are covering glass jars with modge podge and course salt and then putting candles in them on the tables. We are serving tea sandwiches , white cheddar cheese balls, carrot sticks, chocolates from a box of chocolates and a blue punch. It should be a lot of fun! She has 20 girls coming from 9 years old to 20. We are showing the movie and then having a trivia test after. It is a very fun theme that can work for a young girl or a older girl who wants to remain young! I can’t wait to show her this post so she can see which of these ideas are her favorites! thanks! ~Jennifer
Great ideas!
We took our teens to see the movie, and it was a hit with even the boy teen! My daughter has seen it again with her friends too. My son, a musical kid, has been playing the songs on the keyboard since then. Great menu ideas!
I need measurements for their costumes. Ahem. 🙂
Ha! Did I know this?
Love the idea! My daughter will be 8 in Nov and is already planning a Frozen birthday. 🙂 This sounds easily doable for me, as we usually do family parties. Thanks! Cute cake!
Yes, carrots for Sven!
Love the cake idea. I have not seen the movie yet. The crazy thing about this is that my name is Anna and I have a sister named Elsa, although I am older than she is. I was totally blown away when I was listening to the “Plugged In” movie review and the names of the two girls were mentioned. What are the odds!? I want to try the costume idea and make it for myself and my sister so we can be the princesses for Halloween next year.
That would be super cute. We’ve got costume tutorials here on the site: http://lifeasmom.com/2014/01/diy-anna-costume-from-disneys-frozen.html and http://lifeasmom.com/2014/01/diy-elsa-costume-from-disneys-frozen.html
Carrots for Sven of course!!! Love all these ideas. I have a 4 year old girl who is completely enthralled as well.
Ok, and I was thinking the carrots for Olaf’s nose!!! LOL!!!! Such a great movie. Our kids are 2-12 and they all loved it….so did me and hubby!
It’s both. There’s a fun-gross factor in saying you’re eating Olaf’s nose. At least my kids thought it was funny. 😉
Adorable. I love theme parties!
LOVE the ice cream cake idea for a Frozen party! I always make ice cream cakes in a springform pan so that they come out easily, did you have any difficulty getting the cake out of the pan once the ice cream was frozen in there?
I did make this in a springform pan, just forgot to add the step about removing the sides. Thanks for asking!
The joke’s on me. I thought this was going to be a party menu you can freeze ahead of time. 🙂
Haha! Sorry to psyche you out. 🙂