Birthday Blocks Recipes

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.

BUILDING BLOCKS CAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan.
• Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Refrigerate or freeze cake about 1 hour or until firm.
• Meanwhile, in small bowl for each color, tint 1 cup frosting red, 1 cup frosting yellow and 2/3 cup frosting blue with food colors. Leave remaining frosting white.
• Using serrated knife, cut rounded dome from top of cake to make flat surface; place cake cut side down. Cut cake crosswise into thirds. Cut one of the thirds in half crosswise to make 2 squares. Place cake pieces on tray.
• To seal in crumbs, frost top and sides of 1 square cake with thin layer of blue frosting and 1 square cake with thin layer of white frosting. Frost 1 rectangular cake with thin layer of yellow frosting and 1 rectangular cake with thin layer of red frosting. Refrigerate or freeze 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting.
• Add final coat of frosting to each cake. Frost 4 marshmallow halves with blue frosting; place in square design on blue cake. Frost 4 marshmallow halves with white frosting; place in square design on white cake. Frost 8 marshmallow halves with yellow frosting; place on yellow cake. Frost 8 marshmallow halves with red frosting; place on red cake. 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!