Mom Cat and Kitten Cakes

Cut cakes as shown (see diagrams A and B, above right). Coat pieces with a thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs. Place on wax paper; let set about 30 minutes.

Mom cat: Assemble on serving tray as shown, using just enough frosting to glue pieces together.

Tint 1/4 cup frosting yellow, then stir in a touch of orange to tint frosting buttery yellow. Using untinted frosting, generously frost Mom cat, pulling frosting out at sides of face to resemble fur. Apply yellow frosting with a narrow metal spatula for markings on tail, body, paws and face. While frosting is wet, insert black jelly bean sideways for nose. Add curved pieces of black licorice lace for eyelids, mouth and a line between nose and mouth.

Mix 1/2 tsp vanilla frosting with a little black food color and 1 or 2 drops water. Dip in tip of a toothpick; draw whiskers.

Orange tabby kitten: Assemble and glue pieces together as in Step 2. Tint 3/4 cup vanilla frosting pale orange and 2 Tbsp frosting a darker orange. Frost kitten with pale orange, pulling frosting out at sides of face to resemble fur. Apply darker orange for markings on tail, body, paws and face. Spread some untinted frosting at center of face. Cut dark-pink jelly bean crosswise in half. Insert half, cut side in, for nose. Add green baking bits for eyes and a curved piece of a Twizzlers strand for the mouth.

White-and-gray kitten: Assemble and glue pieces together as in Step 2. With black food color, tint 2 Tbsp frosting pale gray. Frost kitten with vanilla frosting using gray frosting for markings. Cut light-pink jelly bean in half crosswise. Insert half, cut side in, for nose. Add blue baking bits for eyes. Cut a small piece of a Twizzlers strand; insert cut side to make a tiny `o' for the mouth.

Knead together dark-pink Fruit Chews. With a rolling pin, roll out to a 5 x 3-in. piece. Cut a narrow strip, tie into a bow and place on head of white-and-gray kitten. Cut out triangles for mom's ears and white-and-gray kitten's ears. Frost 1 side; glue onto ears. Roll out remaining Fruit Chew to a 3 x 1-in. piece. Cut 2 triangles for tabby's ears; glue on.

Wrap 1 round hard candy with Twizzlers strands to resemble a ball of yarn. Place near mom cat. Place other round candy and fish between kittens' paws. You'll need a serving tray at least 14 x 11 in. Before You Begin-If you don't have a serving tray the size you need, cover a baking sheet, plastic-foam board or sturdy cardboard with foil or plastic wrap.-Use the large photos as a guide.-Paste (gel) food colors are available in supermarkets or stores selling crafts or cake-decorating supplies.