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31 Incredible Birthday Cake Designs

Step-by-step recipes, designs and color pics of the easiest (and cutest) birthday cakes for boys and girls

Ingredients:

• 1 (9 by 5-inch) loaf cake
• 2 Twinkies
• 1 jumbo cupcake or muffin
• 1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
• 2 chocolate graham crackers
• 1 Stella D'oro Breakfast Treat cookie
• 2 thin pretzel sticks
• 1 large marshmallow
• 2 blue, 1 red, and 1 yellow M&M's
• 1 black jelly bean
• 2 strands red licorice laces

What you'll need:

• A bread knife
• A serrated knife
• A serving platter
• A resealable sandwich-size plastic bag (Ziploc)
• A spoon

Trimming the cake:

1. Place the loaf cake on a clean work surface. Using a bread knife, trim the top of the cake if too domed. Cut out the body shape using the template.
2. Cut the snack cakes in half on the diagonal and place around cake as the puppy's paws.
3. Remove the paper liner from the muffin or cupcake. Trim the muffin's top slightly if domed. Place on top of the cake as the head, using some vanilla frosting to secure.

Assembling the cake:

1. Using a serrated knife, cut the chocolate graham crackers into large ear flaps, as pictured.
2. Trim the Stella D'oro Breakfast Cookie down and insert at the end of the loaf cake for the puppy's tail. Insert thin pretzel sticks around the tail to help support it, if necessary.
3. Cut the marshmallow in half, crosswise. Attach the marshmallow to the muffin top with some frosting for the puppy's nose.

Frosting the cake:

1. Spoon 1 tsp vanilla frosting into a small resealable plastic bag.
2. Cover the cake with the remaining vanilla frosting. Apply dabs of the chocolate frosting all over. Swirl and swoop the chocolate and vanilla frosting together with a spoon to get a mottled fur effect.

To complete the decoration:

1. Press the cut graham crackers on either side of the head for the puppy's ears.
2. Add the blue M&M's as the eyes, the red M&M as the tongue, and the black jelly bean for the nose.
3. Wrap the strands of red licorice lace around the neck as the collar and add the yellow M&M for the tag. Snip a very small corner from the bag of vanilla frosting and pipe white dots on the eyes.

Cake Anatomy:

Cake Cutout: