Baby Block Cake

I was asked if I might be able to do a baby shower cake for someone last minute, as their original baker had some technical difficulties and was no longer able to help. It had been awhile since I baked a big cake, so I was more than happy to take on the challenge. They were hoping to have three blocks, like baby blocks, stacked on top of each other, in blue as the soon-to-be bundle of joy would be a boy.

I decided to use three layers of a 6 inch, square pan for each block. The size turned out perfectly. I had quite an assembly line happening in the kitchen that night - bake, cool, mix, bake, cool, mix, ice, in the fridge to set, take the next ones out of the oven, cool, ice, in the fridge to set, cover first block with fondant, in the fridge to set, get the other one out of the fridge, cover with fondant, etc. - it was a little hectic but after the blocks were done, the fun of decorating began.

I loved, loved, loved making the teddy bears! I started with rice crispy squares and molded them into teddy bear parts, covered with brown fondant and added the texture for the fur.

I assembled the bear and placed him on the cake with a sucker stick to keep him in place. Each bear was a different shade of brown. I really liked how they turned out!

Next I stacked the blocks. They were heavy so I added a little support to the top one. Decorated with yellow stars to add a little colour and placed a 'It's a Boy!' on top. I always trim with ribbon, and voila. 

I can see the folds on the bottom of the B block, which bothers me, but I know... most people would never notice that. If you are a baker, I am sure you can relate to seeing flaws that others do not notice, but when it's your work and your name is on it, you want perfection. I have the same emotional pattern each time I do a large cake  - ambition, stress, extreme stress, a slight calm as it begins to come together, then pure happiness. I think everyone in the family has learned what stage to keep out of the kitchen and stay away.

In the end, I quite liked this cake.