Smiling Snowman Cake

By carvalhohm

Ingredients

• What you'll need:
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla frosting
• Shredded coconut (optional)
• 2 black licorice drops
• 1 large orange gumdrop
• Red shoestring licorice
• Red fruit leather
• 3 starlight mints
• 3 small gumdrops
• 2 sticks chocolate licorice

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from spoonful.com

Preparation

Step 1

How to make it:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two ovenproof glass bowls, one slightly larger than the other. (Note: For our cake, we used one bowl with a1-liter capacity and 6-inch diameter and other with 1 1/2-liter capacity and 7-inch diameter.)

To make cake, mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl. Sift ingredients onto waxed paper and return to bowl.

In separate bowl, blend butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.

Alternately, add flour mixture and milk to batter in thirds, combining well after each addition. Fill bowls about two thirds full. Bake smaller cake for about 50 minutes and larger cake for about 65 minutes.

When done, surface will spring back when touched and toothpick inserted in center will come out clean. Cool in bowls for 10 minutes. Then invert onto large, rectangular platter (about 17 by 12 inches) so cakes resemble snowman. Cool completely.

Ice cakes with vanilla frosting, then sprinkle with shredded coconut, if desired. Add licorice drop eyes, insert orange gumdrop nose and fashion a broad smile with shoestring licorice.

For scarf, cut two 2-inch-wide strips of fruit leather, notch ends and wrap around neck of snowman. For buttons, use starlight mints topped with gumdrops. Finish off snowman with two chocolate licorice arms.