Jack-O-Lantern Cake

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

Title: JACK-O-LANTERN CAKE
Categories: Holiday, Cakes
Yield: 24 Servings

------------------------------------CAKE------------------------------------
2 1/4 c Sugar
1 1/2 c Buttermilk
1 c Vegetable oil
6 lg Eggs
1 tb Vanilla
1 tb Baking powder
3/4 ts Baking soda
1/2 ts Salt
5 1/4 c Flour

----------------------------------DECORATE----------------------------------
2 cn Vanilla frosting (16 oz ea)
2 tb Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ts Milk
1 1/2 ts Orange paste food color
4 oz Milk chocolate
1 Brown M&M candy

Heat oven to 350~. Grease and flour one 10 3/4 oz clean soup can (remove
label), and a 6 cup bundt pan. (If you have two 6 cup bundt pans, you can
bake both havlves at the same time.) Put all CAKE ingredients except flour
in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer or wooden spoon until blended.
Gradually add flour and beat until thick and smooth. Pour 3/4 c batter into
soup can. Pour half of remaining batter (about 3 1/4 c) into prepared bundt
pan. Bake soup can 30 minutes, bundt pan 45 minutes or until pick inserted
in middle of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack; soup can 5
minutes, cake 15 minutes. Invert on rack and cool cakes completely. Wash,
grease and flour bundt pan. Add remaining batter. Bake and cool as above.
TO ASSEMBLE: Trim bottoms of bundt cakes with a serrated knife until flat.
Place 1 cake flat side up on serving plate. Tuck strips of waxed paper
under edges of cake to keep plate clean while frosting. Place other cake
flat side down on first cake, lining up ridges. Frosting: In a cup mix 1/3
c vanilla frosting, the cocoa powder and milk. Scrape rest of frosting into
a large bowl. Stir in food color (color will darken on standing) Stem: Cut
1 1/2 inch thick slice from 1 end of soup can cake. Push slice gently into
hole in pumpkin. Top with dat of cocoa frosting. Using a small serrated
knife, carve rest of can cake into a pumpkin stem. Press gently onto dab of
frosting. Frost stem with remaining cocoa frosting. For the look of a
fresh-cut stem, cut a thin diagonal slice off top to reveal cake in middle.
With a small spatula, spread orange frosting on pumpkin from top to bottom
w/vertical strokes. Cut two large triangles from chocolate bar for eyes and
7 small triangles for teeth. Press into frosting. Use M&M for nose. For
leaves, tendrils, etc. Melt 6 oz white baking bars (white chocolate) in
small bowl over simmering water (or microwave for 2 min.) Stir in 1/8 tsp
green food color paste until blended, then add 3 Tbs lite corn syrup
(mixture will thicken and look grainy) Wrap and refrigerate for 30 min. (If
chilled longer, it will harden) Leave at room temp. until just pliable.
Knead and pull mixture, holding it over was paper, until like modeling clay
(oil will ooze out while kneading) Place between sheets of plastic wrap and
with a rolling pin roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out 3 pumpkin leaves and
mark veins using blunt side of knife blade. For tendrils, roll small pieces
between palms of hands into spaghettilike strands. Wrap around a pencil and
then slip off. Arrange leaves and tendrils on pumpkin. Use colored frosting
to "paint" clothes on Teddy Graham bears to set on top of pumpkin. Only
paint one color at a time, letting each dry.
NOTE 1: Paste food color can be found in cake decorating and party-supply
shops and some cookware stores. They are very strong. Add only a tiny
amount at a time.
NOTE 2: If using bears, reserve an additional 1/3 c vanilla frosting for
their "clothes".

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