Cocker Spaniel Birthday Cake

Bake cake according to directions. Pour half of mix into regular sized cupcake pan. Pour the other half into a thin 11x14 cake pan. The second box of cake should be baked in standard bread loaf pans.

To make base, cover rectangular base with green frosting. Pull on icing to create grass. To make body, use one loaf. The head is a loaf of cake with 1/3 cut away and reserved for tail. Ice the edges of cakes where they meet. Carve as needed. Use cupcakes to form paws of dog. Ice body parts with chocolate icing, using standard cocker cut.(Use toothpicks minimally.) Allow extra icing to dip down sides of face for ears.

For eyes, cut marshmallow in half and ice on the cake. Ice one chocolate chip on each eye. For mouth, cut licorice string and create curves. Flatten red fruit gummy candy for tongue. Nose is purple fruit gummy. The collar is 12 inch fruit leather wrapped around neck. Place candy disc on collar and personalize. The birthday hat is a sugar cone wrapped in fruit leather (fruit roll ups work best). Paws have fruit gummies near base for nails.

This is a very rustic looking cake by any standard. However, I encourage you to have fun with the creation and carving of the cake. We also built in dog theme games and children walked away with "Doggy Bags" filled with prizes like Ingredients: Fetching Stick, Candy Dog Collar, Fruity Leash, Stickers of Favorite Pals."