Jell O Swirled Caterpillar Cake Food

JELL-O SWIRLED CATERPILLAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour three fourths of the batter into greased and floured 10-cup fluted tube pan. Sprinkle dry gelatin mix evenly over batter in pan; cut through batter with knife several times for marble effect, being careful not to cut through to bottom of pan. Top with remaining batter.
• Bake 45 min. or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Invert pan onto wire rack; cool 5 min. Remove cake from pan; cool completely.
• Cut out one third of cake. Cut removed cake piece in half; set aside. Stand remaining larger cake piece, cut-ends down, on cake board or tray. Place the smaller cake pieces on each end of large cake piece to resemble a curved caterpillar's body as shown in photo. Tint whipped topping with food coloring; spread onto cake. Drizzle with the melted chocolate to resemble the stripes on a caterpillar's body. Decorate with remaining ingredients as shown in photo. Store in refrigerator.

RAINBOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray the bottom and sides of six 8-inch round cake pans; dust with flour and tap out excess.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter, sugar and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla seeds, until combined.
• Transfer the creamed mixture to a very large mixing bowl, then alternate folding in the flour mixture and the milk with a spatula, adding the flour in 3 additions and the milk in 2, starting and ending with the flour, just until smooth. Divide the batter equally among 6 mixing bowls. Using gel food colors, tint each bowl with one of the colors of the rainbow. Pour each color into its own prepared cake pan.
• Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cakes to the rack to cool completely.
• Level the tops of any cake layers that have domed by slicing the domes off with a serrated knife. Put some buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Put the bottom cake layer onto a cake plate. Pipe around the edge of the cake layer to create a frosting "dam." Fill the center with a thin layer of jam (about 1/2 cup). Top with another cake layer and repeat until you have stacked and filled all the layers. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining buttercream and decorate as desired.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk, vanilla seeds and salt. Beat on low speed for a while. When the sugar is incorporated, turn the speed up and beat until the buttercream is fluffy and smooth. If it's too wet, add a bit more confectioners' sugar. If it's too stiff, add a bit more butter. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is combined.
• Use immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Rewhip cold buttercream before using.

CATERPILLAR CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare cake according to package instructions and bake in a Bundt pan. Cool and invert onto cutting board.
• Cut a piece of cardboard large enough to accommodate two Bundt pans. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Carefully cut the cake in half and place on cardboard in an "S" shape.
• Decorate with colored icing, candies, etc.