Surprise '5' Inside Cake

So the day came - my little one turned 5! It was the 20th of last month. Since this was the first time I was baking his birthday party cake, I was tensed beyond imagination. The husband said that he will help and he did - in a big way! The 5 year old was happy that his Baba and Mamma baked his birthday cakes! Yes, cakes and some cupcakes too. The theme of his party was Monster Inc/Monster University. We decided beforehand that we will not go overboard while decorating (we have done it before) but rather stick to the theme colors - aquamarine & purple (Sully's color) and green (Mike Wazowski's color) and add bits of party-theme decors. And I really really wanted to do a 'Surprise 5' inside cake for him - which was mostly a success (best part, we know what we did wrong that resulted in a few wobbly 5s in the middle).

I did have to order a special loaf pan - Wilton 16x4x4.5 and the no 5 cookie cutter (you can use any other number) from Amazon for the cake and it did take about 4 hours to bake the cake (including bake time, freezing time etc) but it was so totally worth it! I used Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix (4 boxes) and home-made Buttercream frosting. For decorating, I used a 'grass tip' or multi-opening tip No. 233 and placed two toy figurines (food grade plastic) of Sully and Mike on it! Pretty simple, eh!

You will need: 

• Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix - 4 (16 ounce) packages
• Butter, Milk/Water, Eggs - as per package instruction
• Colors of your choice - I used Teal and Violet from this pack of Wilton

Step 1: Make the batter using two Pound Cake packages (follow the package instructions). I divided the batter into two parts (as I used 2 colors) and add few drops of colors and folded in till I got my desired shades. Be very careful and do not over-mix - gently fold in the colors. 

Step 2: Line the pan with a aluminium foil. Fill pastry bags or Ziploc bags with the colored batter and drizzle the colored batter into it in any pattern you like. Tap the pan gently on the counter-top a few times Bake at 325 F for 70 to 75 minutes till a toothpick inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15-20 minutes and then let it cool completely on cooling rack.

Step 3: Cut 1 inch slices out of the cooled down cake - do not make the slices thinner or it will topple like a few of mine did. Lay the slices flat and chill them for at least an hour in the freezer. After an hour cut out number 5s using the cookie cutter and place them in a single layer - a cookie sheet will come handy and freeze them again for at least an hour or two.

Step 4:  Freeze the colorful number 5 cut outs for at least 2 hours.

Step 5: When the number 5s are almost done chilling, make the next batch of batter using 2 more boxes (following the package instructions).

Step 6: Line the loaf pan once again with the aluminium foil and add a thin layer of batter to the bottom. Fill a pastry bag (or two) with the remaining batter.

Step 7: Stack a few Number 5s in the pan (like in the picture) and pour the batter on both the sides to keep the numbers as straight as possible.. Repeat till all the 5s are stacked tightly and then pour the remaining batter to cover the top. Smooth the top using a spatula. The husband helped me in doing this, I could not have done it alone.

Step 8: Mark the side with the forward-facing 5. Bake the cake at 325 F for about 70-80 minutes. Turn 180 degrees halfway through. 

Step 9: Cool completely and decorate as desired. I used Buttercream Frosting

.Original recipe from tablespoon.com

Tips: 

• Make sure that the 5s are frozen solid before you start stacking them.
• Make sure that you stack just a few 5s at a time, pouring batter on both the sides as you go, or the 5s will not be straight.