When my kids were in elementary school, one of the great joys on their birthday was to pass out homemade, edible treats to their friends and classmates. Usually the treat was some sort of cookie, since that was easy to transport. Often the cookies would be cut-out sugar cookies. Of course they would be seasonally correct: perhaps tennis balls for Lauren's spring birthday or maybe pumpkin shaped ones with each kid's name piped on for Christopher's autumnal day. This mom had a LOT of fun playing. 

One year I made this cake from rice krispies, cocoa crisps, and fruity pebbles for Derek to share with his class. It was a big hit! Every year after that, Derek always requested this towering cake on his birthday. The request continued through middle school; he didn't seem at all embarrassed to pass out treats on his day. I sadly assumed that in high school, Derek would pack away this tradition in his chest of childhood, but no, it continued for four more years. He would take the treat cake to tennis practice, to share after their workout. And his senior year, I think he shared the treats with his math class, and no one seemed to mind. 

Several weeks ago, Derek celebrated his 20th birthday in California with some college friends over spring break. Because we didn't get to celebrate with him on his day, I made one of his mile high, specialty cakes for us to share over Easter break with Derek and some of his friends. Sadly, their travel plans fell through at the last minute, but if he still wants one of these when he turns 50, I will gladly make one for him!

Recipe for Rice Krispie Cake

8 cups each of 3 different kinds of cereal (I usually use rice krispies, cocoa crisps, and fruity pebbles, and the generic brands work just as well as the name brands)

3/4 c. butter

3  10.5 oz size bags of mini marshmallows

Combine one bag of mini marshmallows and 1/4 c. butter, cut into pieces, in a large glass bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes on 50%. Stir the melted marshmallows and butter together vigorously until the mixture is smooth. Depending on the strength of your microwave, you may have to adjust the time slightly. Pour in 8 cups of one of the cereals, and stir this sticky mixture until all the cereal is coated. Dump this into an unbuttered 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Grease the surface of your hands with a little butter and using your hands, press down and smooth out the cereal mixture to an even thickness in the pan. Set aside and continue with the other two kinds of cereal. Be sure to wash and dry the glass bowl between batches so the colors stay separate. When you have prepared all three batches, let them set in the pans for several hours to harden.

Run the edge of a large spatula around the sides of the pans and carefully scoop underneath the mixture; turn pans upside down and allow the treats to fall out onto the counter surface for ease of cutting. If you prefer, you can also just cut them in the pans. I like square sizes, so cutting each pan into 35 pieces, 5 across and 7 down, works well. Use a big, sharp knife for cutting to get nice clean edges. 

You can assemble the cake any way you like, whether round or rectangular, each layer being a single color or you can mix the colors in each layer. You can make as many layers as you like. If you press the pieces together carefully when you are assembling, the cake will retain its shape, even at a dizzying height. I chose to make this one round, fitting as many pieces snugly together as would fit on the cake stand. I used a single color per layer, and made each layer just slightly smaller than the previous one, to make it look like a sort of tower. Have fun and play around with the design. When completed, wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve. This is great to serve to kids because there is no mess and you don't even need a napkin; just let each child choose the color they want and grab it with their own hands. 

And as a side note, this is one of the major benefits of having indoor dogs: they clean up messes from your floor!