Building Blocks Cakes Recipes

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.

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.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease bottoms and sides of 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with shortening or cooking spray.
• Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 8-inch rounds, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For easier handling, refrigerate or freeze cakes 30 minutes to 1 hour or until firm.
• On serving plate, place 1 cake layer, rounded side down. In medium bowl, mix 2 containers chocolate frosting with 1/2 container vanilla frosting. Spread with 1/2 cup of the frosting. Top with second cake layer, rounded side up. Spread thin layer of frosting over cake to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate or freeze 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Using serrated knife, cut a quarter out of top cake layer (as shown in photo). In bowl, crumble removed cake and mix with 1/2 cup frosting to look like dirt. Mound "dirt" on cake. Frost remaining cake thickly with remaining frosting.
• In small bowl, tint about 1/3 cup vanilla frosting with orange food color. Place on cake in circles for construction cones; top with candy corn. In small bowl, tint about 1/2 cup vanilla frosting with green food color for grass; place around cake. Place trucks on cake. Place rock-shaped candy in trucks.