Welcome Baby Block Quilt Cake

by Annie S.
(Portland, Oregon)

Baby Block Quilt Cake Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place parchment sheet on bottom then grease and flour standard rectangular cake pan.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. In separate bowl mix eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla; stir in dry ingredients and beat for about a minute. Stir in hot coffee (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 35-40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely then place on cake carrier base.

While cake is baking or cooling prepare icing.

Icing Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 lb bag of confectionary sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Mix all ingredients until creamy-smooth then separate into four bowls and use paste colors to make desired colors leaving one bowl of white. In this case I prepared blue and yellow and piped those, then mixed the remaining icing together to make the green. Count out letters of baby’s name and desired greeting and using the letter piping tip, lay out a “quilt” block for each letter leaving room on the edges to pipe the blanket “fringe”. Then, using a star tip, fill each block in a diagonal pattern with the same color of icing. Use an opposing color on each block when piping the letters. When serving, you can use the blocks as guidelines for cutting. Enjoy‼