Baby Block Shower Or Birthday Cake Recipes

BABY BLOCK CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (8-inch) square pans with shortening or cooking spray.
• Make cake batter as directed on box, adding almond extract with the water. Divide batter in half. Stir 2 drops blue food color into one half; stir 2 drops red food color into other half. Pour into pans. Bake as directed on box for 8-inch pans. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread with 1/2 cup white frosting. Top with second cake layer, bottom side down. Spread frosting evenly on side and top of cake. Decorate cake as desired to look like baby block, using decorating icing and decors. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

BIRTHDAY BLOCKS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour; beat just until blended. Stir in extracts. Pour into two greased and floured 9x5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in 4 cups confectioners' sugar. Slowly add milk and vanilla. Beat in remaining confectioners' sugar. Add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting reaches spreading consistency; set aside., To make building blocks, cut each cake in half, then cut each half into four blocks for a total of 16 blocks. Gently trim crusts of each; blocks should measure 1-3/4x1-3/4 in. Frost sides and top of blocks. Smooth frosting using a warm spatula. Using tinted icing, decorate with letters and numbers (see photo). Carefully stack blocks on a serving platter.

BABY SHOWER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease bottoms only of three 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour 1 1/2 cups of the batter into small bowl. Pour another 1 1/2 cups of the batter into one of the pans.
• Stir 6 to 10 drops red food color into batter in small bowl. Stir 6 to 10 drops blue food color into batter in large bowl. Pour pink batter into another pan; pour blue batter into remaining pan. (If necessary, refrigerate 1 pan of batter until ready to bake.)
• Bake 8-inch pans 19 to 24 minutes, 9-inch pans 17 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Place blue layer, top side down, on plate. Spread 1/3 cup frosting on blue layer almost to edge. Place white layer, top side down, on frosted layer. Spread 1/3 cup frosting on white layer almost to edge. Place pink layer, top side up, on frosted layer. Frost side and top of cake with remaining frosting. Store loosely covered.

BABY BLOCK SHOWER OR BIRTHDAY CAKE

Steps:

• Make or buy a minimum of 2 pound cakes (quantity depends on how big of a name you are spelling).
• Slice in half width-wise and shave sides and top accordingly to make a cube.
• Color appropriate amount of white frosting with food coloring to make pink, blue or whatever colors "blocks" you want.
• Frost all sides but the bottom of the blocks with the colored frosting.
• Using a frosting gun or a ziploc (with tip cut) filled with remaining white frosting - write the first letter on all sides, including the top of the block.
• Repeat with the additional "blocks" by finishing out the name you are using.
• Arrange blocks to spell out the name on a beautiful platter and getting ready for the compliments!
• NOTE: You could also bake 2 13x9 cakes and cut into cubes and make the "blocks" 2-layers stacked.
• You could get even fancier and pipe the contrasting color of frosting onto the edges/trim of the blocks to define them more.
• Or you could decorate the blocks with the white frosting and spell the baby's name out with the color-tinted frosting.
• The possibilities are endless!