Baby Bootie Cakes Recipes

BABY'S BOOTIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Remove paper baking cups. Place 2 cupcakes upside down on separate plates. Cut small piece off side of a third cupcake to make a flat surface. Cut third cupcake horizontally in half. Place one half with cut side against cupcake on plate as shown in diagram. Place other half against second cupcake. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
• Frost cupcake booties, attaching toe piece to cupcake with frosting. Decorate booties with marshmallows and bow shapes cut from gumdrops rolled with a rolling pin. Store loosely covered.

BABY BOOTIE CAKES

Steps:

• Each bootie consists of two cake rounds of different heights. To make booties, trim top of sheet cake so it is level. Place trimmed cake on work surface. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles from cake, keeping the circles as close together as possible. Discard the scraps or save for a delicious snack.
• To make toe pieces for booties, cut four circles in half horizontally, making eight shorter circles. Trim each short circle by cutting a straight line 1/2-inch in from the edge. Place one tall and one short circle on a piece of waxed paper or parchment. Using a dab of buttercream as glue, affix trimmed edge of shorter circle to taller one. This forms the basic bootie shape. Repeat with other pairs.
• Using an offset spatula or a butter knife, thinly coat each bootie with a layer of buttercream to seal in the crumbs; giving the shoe shape by adding more icing to the front and top. Refrigerate the booties until the crumb coat has set. Decorate the booties one at a time. Remove from the refrigerator, and cover with a final coat of buttercream, shaping and smoothing the shoes as you go.
• Pipe laces and trim to resemble a child's shoe: Fit couplers onto piping bags and fill halfway with tinted buttercream. To make dots and trim, use a No. 4 tip. To fashion thin, dainty laces and other delicate details, use a No. 3 tip. To pipe small stars, use a No. 13 tip. Chill booties again until buttercream is firm, then transfer to serving platters.

BOOTIES 'N' RATTLES CAKE

Steps:

• Let separated eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and orange zest; beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well (batter will be thick). In a small bowl and with clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff. Fold into batter. , Pour into a greased and floured 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Transfer to a 15x12-in. covered board. , Place 3/4 cup frosting in each of two small bowls; tint one pastel pink and one pastel blue. Set aside 2-1/2 cups frosting for trim and border. Cover and set bowls aside. Frost cake with remaining frosting. , Using dental floss or a sharp knife, mark a straight line lengthwise down the center of the cake. Mark additional lengthwise straight lines, dividing the cake into four equal sections. Mark five lines widthwise, dividing the cake into a total of 24 squares., For booties, insert plain pastry tip # 8 into a pastry bag or a plastic bag with small hole; add pink frosting. In alternating squares, pipe an elongated dot, raising up at one end to form the heel., For rattles, use plain tip #8 and blue frosting. In each of the empty squares, pipe one large dot and one small dot, leaving 3/4 in. between dots. Use plain tip #2 and blue frosting to pipe a line connecting the dots., For trim, use plain tip #2 and reserved white frosting. Pipe a bow and trim on each bootie and a bow on each rattle. , Use star tip #20 to pipe rows of white shells on top of the straight lines. Pipe a row of shells around top and bottom edges of cake.

BABY CAKE--IT'S A BOY!

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Grease 1 1/2-quart ovenproof bowl (8 inches across top) with shortening; coat with flour (do not use cooking spray). Lightly grease 3 muffin cups in mini muffin pan.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour batter into 3 mini muffin cups, filling two-thirds full; pour remaining cake batter into 1 1/2-quart bowl.
• Bake cupcakes 11 to 14 minutes, bowl 47 to 53 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from mini muffin cups and bowl; place rounded sides up on cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour. If necessary, cut off rounded tops of cakes.
• Place bowl cake on tray, cut side down. Cut 1 mini cupcake in half from top to bottom. Place half of the mini cupcake cut side against one of the whole mini cupcakes; use toothpick to hold them together. Repeat with remaining cupcake and half cupcake. Use frosting to adhere cupcakes to bowl cake for booties, with half cupcakes facing out. Use toothpicks if necessary. Spread 1/3 cup frosting in thin layer over side and top of cake to seal in crumbs. Freeze cake 30 to 45 minutes to set frosting.
• Reserve 1/4 cup frosting in small bowl. Spread remaining frosting over cake, frosting more heavily on side of bowl cake with booties; this will be baby's diaper. To reserved 1/4 cup frosting, add 3 drops neon blue food color, stirring until well blended. Spread blue frosting on mini cupcakes.
• On work surface, roll out 1/4 cup of the white fondant to 1/8 inch, and cut shapes out for soles of booties; press onto cupcakes, using colored frosting as glue.
• Knead 6 drops neon blue food color into 1 cup of the fondant. On work surface, roll out to 1/8 inch into rectangle. Gently lift rectangle, and drape over cake across from booties to make blanket, making wrinkles and folds as you place the rectangle.
• Knead 3 drops neon blue food color into 1/4 cup of the fondant, and roll out to 1/8 inch on work surface into long strip. Use pastry wheel to make scalloped edge. Gently place edging along end of blanket, using small amount of water to adhere fondant if necessary.
• Knead 3 drops neon blue food color into 1/4 cup of the fondant, and roll out to 1/8 inch on work surface. Use small canapé cutters or paring knife to cut out square shapes as desired.
• Knead 1 drop neon green food color and 2 drops neon pink into 1/4 cup of the fondant to get bright orange, and roll out to 1/8 inch on work surface. Use small canapé cutters or paring knife to cut out square shapes as desired.
• Place small cutout shapes on blanket as desired, using small amount of water to attach. Remove toothpicks before serving. Store loosely covered.