Black Cat Cake

Description:

No special pans required - just a stiff cardboard sheet 24” x 12”

Ingredients:

• Cake
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 cups C&H® or Domino® Granulated Sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 squares (1 oz. ea) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Add melted chocolate. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, add alternately to batter with the buttermilk. Spray to two 9" round cake pans with non-stick spray. Cut a circle of waxed paper to fit each pan. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake in 325 degrees oven for about 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes our clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting.

• Frosting
• 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1 (8 oz pkg) cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 lbs. C&H® or Domino® 10-X Powdered Sugar
• 3 TBSP milk
• 3 (1 oz squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

Instructions:

Combine butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt. Beat until light and fluffy, gradually add confectioners sugar. Stir in milk and melted chocolate. Beat until fluffy.

To assemble cat:

Cut one layer of the cake to form the tail, head and ears of the cat. See diagram. Arrange cake pieces to form a cat on a large tray. Frost and place candies on cat head to form eyes, nose and whiskers. Suggested candies for decorating: Large yellow gumdrops or jelly beans for eyes, small black gumdrop for nose and black shoestring licorice for whiskers.