Firecracker Party Cake Food

FIRECRACKER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven according to cake mix directions. Generously grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan; set aside.
• Make cake batter as directed on box, using water, oil and egg whites. Pour 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl; stir in red food coloring until well mixed. Pour another cup of the batter into a separate bowl; stir in blue food color until well mixed.
• Pour red cake batter into bottom of pan. Carefully pour the white batter over red batter in pan. Carefully pour blue batter over white batter. (The blue batter does not need to cover the white batter completely). When you add the batter to the pan, do not mix with a spoon. Just pour it in so the colors don't mix but rather, just rest on top of each other in the pan.
• Bake as directed on box or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place cooling rack over cookie sheet. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack. Cool cake completely, about 30-45 minutes.
• When cake is cool, divide the frosting evenly into 3 microwavable bowls. Microwave 1 bowl of frosting uncovered on HIGH a few seconds until smooth enough to drizzle over cake. With spoon, drizzle all of the 1st bowl of microwaved frosting all over the cake, back and forth around the cake in a striping pattern. Repeat microwaving second bowl of frosting until smooth. Stir in a few drops of the blue food coloring until well blended. Drizzle over cake, scattering back and forth. Repeat with remaining frosting and red food coloring, making sure red, white and blue can be seen on the cake. Sprinkle with red, white and blue sprinkles, if desired. Let cake stand at room temperature until frosting is set before serving.
• Store loosely covered at room temperature.

FIRECRACKER PARTY CAKE

Steps:

• Allow separated eggs to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with nonstick spray for baking; line bottom of pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, water, canola oil, food coloring, and cinnamon oil. Whisk to combine.
• In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and cayenne for 30 seconds to distribute the leavening. Sift the flour mixture over the egg yolk mixture and stir until smooth; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer* combine the egg whites and salt. Beat on high speed until foamy. Sprinkle in the cream of tartar and beat for 10 seconds. Slowly add the remaining 3/4 sugar, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form.
• Spoon about 1/2 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and stir to lighten. Spoon the remaining egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and fold until no white streaks remain. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen sides and invert cake onto a wire rack; remove parchment. Cool completely. Wrap cooled cake in plastic wrap and freeze 30 minutes.
• Remove from freezer; unwrap. Use a long serrated knife to cut cake into 1 1/2-inch wide strips, then cut strips crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Set pieces aside. Filling:
• Place the water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside for 5 minutes until gelatin looks like wet sand.
• Place the bowl with the gelatin in the microwave and cook for 10-second intervals until completely melted, swirling after each interval. Set aside for 10 minutes.
• In the large bowl of a stand mixer* combine the whipping cream, mascarpone, and powdered sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Add a large dollop of cream mixture to the gelatin mixture and stir to combine. With mixer running, slowly pour the gelatin mixture into the remaining whipped cream mixture, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Transfer some of the mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Assembly:
• Line the outside bottom edge of a 4- to 5 -quart clear glass straight-sided bowl or trifle dish with cake pieces, pressing pieces very close together so there are not gaps between pieces. Fill in the center of the bowl with cake pieces to make an even layer of cake. Pipe or spread an even 1 1/2-inch layer of whipped cream on top of the cake cubes. Arrange a second layer of cake cubes over the cream layer and then pipe or spread another layer of cream over cake to reach the top of the bowl. Spread cream evenly. Starting around the edge and working toward the center, pipe remaining cream in small mounds on top of the cake. Top with sprinkles. Cover and chill up to 24 hours.

FIRE CRACKERS

Steps:

• Line crackers on ends (like dominoes) in an air-tight container.
• In a small bowl, mix oil, dressing mix, peppers, and garlic powder.
• Stir until all ingredients are well mixed.
• Continue to stir to prevent the pepper from settling on the bottom of the bowl.
• Spoon mixture evenly over crackers, like drizzling icing on a cake.
• Close lid tightly and flip the container over every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. Lightly shake back and forth to make sure all the crackers are coated.
• Store in a ziplock bag. Will keep for about a week -- if they last that long!

MINI FIRECRACKER CAKES

Steps:

• Prepare the cake mix as per package instructions. Separate evenly into three bowls of about 1 ½ cups batter each. Color one bowl red, and one blue. Gently stir color into batter. Pour into three loaf pans that are lightly greased and lined with a parchment sleeve. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake tests clean. The cakes should be fully cooked through. Allow to cool completely.
• Using a 1-inch biscuit cutter, cut 8-10 circles out of each of the cakes. Gently brush the outside of each of the cut-outs with simple syrup and then coat in sanding sugar. Let the cut-outs dry for 10 minutes before assembling.
• Dab a ¼-½ teaspoon of frosting on each of the red cakes, and then top with a white cake. Dab with another ¼-½ teaspoon of frosting and then top with the blue cakes. Using a straw, cut a hole through the center of the cakes, discard. Fill the cakes with popping candy and top with a 1-inch length of black licorice. Serve within an hour.
• TIP: Letting the sanding sugar dry is necessary to prevent the colors from bleeding.