Kittens N Mittens Cake

Directions

• Mix cake according to package directions; pour batter into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan lined with waxed paper. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes; invert onto a wire rack. Remove pan and waxed paper; cool completely.
• For frosting, combine butter, shortening and confectioners' sugar in a bowl. Beat on high for 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; blend in cream and extract.
• Place 1/2 cup frosting each in two small bowls. Add red food coloring to one bowl and blue to the other. Place 2 tablespoons white frosting each into five custard cups. With brown food coloring, tint one cup cream, one tan and one brown. With black food coloring, tint one gray and one black.
• Trace patterns (except small mitten) onto waxed paper and cut out. Set heart, spot and muzzle patterns aside. Arrange patterns for cat, kitten, tails and large mitten on cake. Using a sharp knife, cut out according to quantities noted on patterns; remove paper. Place cat with tail and kitten with tail on a 22x20-in. covered board, trimming tails to fit bodies as needed. Frost with white icing.
• For muzzles, gently trace patterns on cat and kitten using a toothpick; frost with cream-colored frosting. Trace and frost kitten's brown, tan and gray spots. Fill a small bag with black frosting; cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. On cat and kitten, pipe dots for eyes, an upside-down triangle for nose and a line from the nose to the bottom of the muzzle. Pipe whiskers on muzzle.
• Place mittens on board near cat and kitten. Frost one mitten blue and the other red. Trace a heart on cat and kitten; frost with red frosting. Trace a heart on each mitten. Fill a small bag with white frosting; pipe mitten heart outlines and a crisscross design on hearts. Pipe "x's" and stitching around edges of mittens. Add a dot with white frosting in the center of cat's and kitten's eyes.
• For scarves, separate licorice twist into three strips with three strands each. For kitten, cut one strip 8 in. long; form a loop near one end of strip. bend and place strip around kitten's neck, with loop ending at edge of neck. Cut a 2-in. piece from another strip; bend and secure from loop down side of kitten's neck. Repeat, using a 9-in. strip to make scarf for cat.