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mini baby block cakes


bripastryguy

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i have an order for a close friend of mine who is having a baby shower next saturday. She made a hint to me that she would like individual baby block cakes all covered with fondant. I would like to know if someone has experience with these.

I plan to make the cakes in half sheet pans with extenders then cut them into squares and cover each one with crumb coat. Freeze em then i have 2 ideas how to cover

1.)cut out 5 squares for each box (4sides and 1 top piece) then stick them on. thats 300 squares ( i have to do 60 mini cakes total). Then pipe in the seems and then stamp with abc's

2.)make a cross shaped template and lay it over each box and finish the same way as the first.

Anybody have any other ideas?

Edited by bripastryguy (log)

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Brian Fishman

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From a time standpoint, it would almost be a wash between quickly cutting out a bunch of squares or carefully cutting a cross from a template. I think either way would be fine, but the cross may take a little more time, and also you wouldn't have a top seam to fill in. The seams would only be on the sides of the block.

I think the seams are actually important, as filling them in, perhaps with a contrasting color buttercream, will create the baby block borders.

You could just do the blocks in buttercream, but the finish just isn't as nice as with fondant, and also, you'd probably spend a lot more time trying to get buttercream blocks as smooth as fondant blocks.

Cutting out individual squares will also enhance the sharp corners a block has. When you drape fondant over a square cake, it tends to round out the corners.

Wouldn't it be easier to glaze them like big petit fours?

Easier....I don't think so. It is really hard to pour glaze or pouring fondant over sharp square corners evenly. It's a pain in the butt actually. You can freeze the blocks and dip them, but it doesn't take long for the icing to get full of crumbs and melted buttercream. Another pain in the butt. :wink:

Edited by chefpeon (log)
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What Annie said!

Get a pasta machine with a motor and use that to roll the fondant - the blocks aren't going to be large - maybe you can even size the cakes to match the largest square Ateco cutter. If you have two people helping, one can knead/roll the fondant, the other can cut it. Use a very lightly dusted sheet pan to hold the cut out fondant squares and set up an assembly line. Maybe even a third pair of hands to put the fondant squares on the cakes. For 60, it would definitely be worth it.

I'd use royal icing to make the edges - you can color it, it will dry (and not smudge like buttercream would and is less labor intensive than trying to make a fondant rope or something like that). Are you putting these on individual boards or?

ETA: typo

Edited by JeanneCake (log)
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I was thinking later what a stupid idea the glazing was!

I love the idea of using a cutter to get the square just right and could you even stamp on designs (letter, ducks, cows, etc.) before applying the fondant to the cakes?

Oh, that is going to be so cute.

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I'd use royal icing to make the edges - you can color it, it will dry (and not smudge like buttercream would and is less labor intensive than trying to make a fondant rope or something like that).

Yes, I agree....Royal will be easier to handle than the buttercream would.

Another idea:

Make all your fondant squares, lay them out, and then make stencils of the "A" the "B" and the "C". You could make a "D" stencil, or maybe a simple Teddy Bear or Ducky. You can quickly airbrush the squares with the various stencils. They dry quickly, then you can apply to the blocks. Pipe some colored royal icing into the seams and you're done. :smile:

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If you're inclined to order this from Squires, you'd have all your blocks the same size and shape and use this or this to cut out your fondant to cover the cakes. You could cut out all your fondant crosses, stencil in the letters and cover the cake blocks. If someone was willing to help you, you could probably even do it assembly line fashion. Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

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When I make baby blocks, I usually just cut a strip of fondant the width of the block and long enough to go all the way around, then two squares for the open sides. I suppose you could just make one square for the top and leave the bottom bare. Then I pipe on borders to make it look more square. For decoration I cut out pastel colors of fondant with mini baby shower cookie cutters and alphabet cutters and stick them in the center of the squares.

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If you're inclined to order  this from Squires, you'd have all your blocks the same size and shape and use this or this to cut out your fondant to cover the cakes. You could cut out all your fondant crosses, stencil in the letters and cover the cake blocks. If someone was willing to help you, you could probably even do it assembly line fashion. Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

I've just checked out their website. Do you have to put the squares together yourself, or is the pan assembled already? The raw batter won't leak out? I'm not too clear on this.

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If you're inclined to order  this from Squires, you'd have all your blocks the same size and shape and use this or this to cut out your fondant to cover the cakes. You could cut out all your fondant crosses, stencil in the letters and cover the cake blocks. If someone was willing to help you, you could probably even do it assembly line fashion. Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

I've just checked out their website. Do you have to put the squares together yourself, or is the pan assembled already? The raw batter won't leak out? I'm not too clear on this.

If you zoom in closely at the picture of the pan, you can see that each individual square is composed of two "u"-shaped pieces that fit together to form the shape. All these squares fit neatly over a tray that hold them together for baking. You can even buy this to line each square for easy removal of the baked cakes. I have the mini set with the liners and square fondant template. I bought at Squires's sugar craft fair last year and the lady demonstrating the product assures me that leaks do not occur. It solves the problem of trying to cut a sheet cake into perfect squares. It's a great pan.

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