Flower Cake

Kids love flower cakes. Whether you are celebrating a birthday, Christmas, or any special occasion, flower cakes not only taste great, they look great, too. Why don't you try your hand making a flower cake for your kid with this sample recipe?

Flower Cake with Candy-Coated Chocolate Tops

The candy-coated chocolate pieces can be in assorted colors to make your flower cake even more attractive. Also, experiment with frosting. Get wacky colors for your flower cake – like a pink center piece and blue mini-cakes all around it to form the petals. Kids are going to dig right in.

To make the flower cake, you need the following ingredients:

For Cake:

* 1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Yellow Cake Mix
* 1 cup water
* 1/3 cup oil
* 3 eggs

For Frosting:

* 2 (16 oz.) cans Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting
* Pink and purple paste or gel icing colors (Don't use liquid food color)

Equipment and Decorations:

* Pink decorator sugar
* Assorted colored candy-coated chocolate pieces
* Purple decorator sugar
* Multicolored fruit-flavored decors
* Toothpicks

Directions:

First, heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You will be using one 8-inch round cake pan and one 9-inch round cake pan. Grease and flour these pans while the oven is still heating.

Next, get a large bowl and combine all cake ingredients. Beat at low speed until moistened and then, beat for two minutes at high speed.

Then, pour 2 cups of batter into greased and floured8-inch pan. Pour the rest of the batter into 9-inch pan.

Place the pans in the oven and let bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wait until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The 8-inch cake should bake around 30 to 40 minutes while the 9-inch cake should bake around 35 to 40 minutes.

Let the cakes cool in pan for 15 minutes. Then, invert cakes onto wire racks, and let cool for one hour or until completely cooled.

Now, for the frosting, use a small microwave-safe bowl as a mixing pan for 1 cup of frosting tinted with pink icing color. Blend well. Then, microwave frosting on HIGH for 30 to 40 seconds or until frosting is thin. Do not boil.

Next, place the 8-inch cake on sheet of waxed paper and frost lightly to seal crumbs. After the first layer of frost dries, frost again, immediately sprinkling with pink sugar. If necessary, microwave frosting again to thin.

Use a pancake turner to transfer cake to a platter or foil-covered cardboard. Then, arrange the candy-coated chocolate pieces around the edge of the cake.

Cut the 9-inch cake into 8wedges. Cut off about 1 inch off the pointed end of the wedge. Then, using a small microwave-safe bowl, tint the remaining frosting with purple icing color. Make sure the frosting and icing color blend well before microwaving on HIGH for 30 to 40 seconds or until frosting is thin.

Then, place each wedge on waxed paper and frost lightly to seal the crumbs. Let dry before frosting again, immediately sprinkling each with purple sugar. Decorate the wedges with sugar decors before arranging them evenly around the frosted 8-inch cake. Secure the wedges with toothpicks, removing them only before serving.