DIY Bird Seed Cakes

Here's a fun project for the kiddos...we've made a few this week! The first ones were small, and were gone in a matter of hours, so we made yesterday's seed cakes MUCH bigger! I used Gladware containers as molds. Our birds LOVE them! We see a lot of bluejays, crows, sparrows & woodpeckers frequenting our bird buffet:) Squirrels seem to enjoy this one too!

Here's what you need:

4 C Water
Bird seed (any variety is fine)

4 Packets unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 C Peanut butter

1 C Shortening
1/2 C Light corn syrup
Heavy twine or braided nylon
Containers to use as molds (Gladware quart containers & small cake pans work well)
Cooking spray
Wax paper

Directions:
On stove, heat water, not quite to boiling, & mix in gelatin until it's dissolved. Add peanut butter, corn syrup & shortening, stirring until those are all melted. Take off heat, let mixture cool for a few minutes, then mix in your bird seed. I didn't specify an amount, but mix in the bird seed until the mixture doesn't have any excess liquid in it.

Use the cooking spray on the inside of molds, then spoon mixture into each mold, until they're about 3/4 full. Take your twine & make a loop with a pretty big knot on the end (this will help ensure it doesn't fall out when you hang the seed cake). Push the knot into each mold, then fill up the remaining space in the mold, with a few inches of loop coming out of the top. After the molds are full, use the wax paper to push down & pack mixture tightly into mold. 

Put the molds in the freezer for a few hours, or until they are very firm. Pull them out of the molds (if you have trouble pulling them out, run the mold under hot water for a few seconds...they'll slide right out!).

Hang them outside for your birds & squirrels to enjoy!