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Prairie Birthday Cake

BE PREPARED: If you plan to serve our kitchen staff's confection for a youngster's birthday party, you might be in for a land rush. Why? With this sweet treat on the table, you're bound to have lots of little "settlers" on your hands...claiming their territory around the birthday cake! The CT home economists started out simply—by using a purchased cake mix—then added sunbonnets and flowe

12 ServingsPrep: 25 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling

Ingredients

1 package white cake mix (regular size)
1 cup shortening
1 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 cups confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons milk
Pink, yellow, green and purple or blue paste food coloring

Directions

Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using a
greased and floured 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Cool on a wire rack
for 10 minutes; invert onto the rack to cool completely. Transfer
cake to a 15-in. x 12-in. covered board.
In a bowl, cream shortening, butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in
sugar and milk until light and fluffy.
Place 1 cup frosting in a bowl; tint pink. Place 1/2 cup frosting
each in two bowls; tint one yellow and one purple or blue. Place 1/4
cup frosting in another bowl; tint green. Cover and set bowls aside.
Set 1/2 cup white frosting aside. Frost cake with remaining white
frosting.
With a knife, score a straight line lengthwise down the center of the
cake; score two lines widthwise, creating six sections. Cut a small
hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert star tip. Fill

2 of 2

Prairie Birthday Cake (continued)

Directions (continued)

bag with reserved white frosting. Pipe rows of white shells over the
scored lines
Prepare another bag; insert star tip and fill with pink frosting.
Pipe shells on each side of the rows of white shells, being careful
not to cross over the lines. Pipe a row of pink shells around top
and bottom edges of the cake.
Trace a sunbonnet pattern onto waxed paper and cut out. With a sharp
knife, trace pattern in top left, bottom middle and to right
squares.
Prepare another bag; insert round tip and fill with pink frosting.
Outline and fill in the bonnet and form a bow in the top left
square. In the center of each of the empty squares, pipe two pink
flowers.
Prepare another bag; insert round tip and fill with purple or blue
frosting. Outline and fill in the bonnet in the middle bottom square
and form a bow. Pipe two purple or blue flowers in the squares with
the pink flowers. Place a small dot of purple or blue frosting in
the center of pink flowers.
Prepare another bag; insert round tip and fill with yellow frosting.
Outline and fill in the bottom in the top right square and form a
bow. Pipe two yellow flowers in squares with the other flowers,
forming a bouquet. Place a small dot of the yellow frosting in the
center of purple or blue flowers.
Prepare another bag; insert round tip and fill with green frosting.
Pipe stems and leaves on bouquets. Place a small dot of green
frosting in the center of yellow flowers. Yield: 12 servings.