Uncle
Sam Cake
Serves: 24
Prep: 30 Min
Bake: 50
Say Uncle!
Celebrate your patriotism on the 4th of July and all year long with this
grand old man who's a piece of cake to make.
2 boxes (1 lb 2.25 oz each) moist yellow-cake
mix, batter prepared as pkg directs
2 tubs (16 oz each) vanilla frosting
1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 unwrapped semisweet mini Kisses (eyes)
Cornstarch
Paste (icing) food colors:
red, blue and creamy peach or copper
Equipment:
2 freezer ziptop bags;
1 1/2-in. star-shaped cookie cutter
Click here for the Sugar Dough recipe.
1. Have ready a serving surface at least 19 x 12 1/2 in. (see Tip).
2. Cakes: Position racks to divide oven in
thirds. Heat to 325°F.
Grease an 8 x 2-in. round cake pan and a 13 x 9-in. baking pan.
Lightly dust pans with flour.
3. Pour 3 cups cake batter into the round pan, and remaining batter into the 13 x 9-in. pan.
4. Stagger pans on oven racks. Bake 40 to 50 minutes until a pick inserted near center of cakes comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes, invert on racks and cool cakes completely. Turn top sides up. Trim raised areas off tops of cakes with a long serrated knife.
5. Scrape frosting into a medium bowl. Stir
in confectioners’ sugar until well blended. Divide frosting and color
as follows: 1 1/2 cups red, 2/3 cup blue, 1/3 cup creamy peach (flesh
tone) and 2 tsp
pink (red frosting and untinted). Spoon 1 tsp red frosting into a ziptop
bag (for mouth); seal bag. Spoon 1 Tbsp untinted frosting into a cup (for
glue). Scrape remaining untinted frosting into a
ziptop bag; seal bag. Cover colored frostings airtight with plastic wrap.
6. Beard: Cut a 11/2-in.-wide piece from
1 side of round cake. Cut piece in half crosswise and glue long straight
sides together. Hat brim: Cut a 31/2-in.-wide piece off 1 short end of
13 x 9-in.
cake. Cut piece in half lengthwise (two 13/4-in. strips). Trim each strip
to 6 in. Glue 2 ends together.
7. For each white stripe on hat: On work surface lightly dusted with cornstarch, roll 2 Tbsp Sugar Dough into a log, pressing and rolling until you have a 10 x 11/4-in. flat stripe. Press a straight edge against sides of stripe to even edge. Repeat twice. Cover stripes.
8. Stars: Roll out remaining dough 1/8 in. thick. Use cookie cutter to cut out 4 stars. (Scraps may be rerolled to make extra stars for serving platter or dessert plates.) Cover; set aside.
9. Using large photograph, page 148, as a guide, place hat, trimmed side down, on serving tray. Spread top and sides with red frosting. Starting at top of edge where brim will meet hat, lay down white stripes about 11/2 in. apart. Spread blue frosting on 1 long side of brim. Set in place, frosted side against hat. Frost rest of brim with remaining blue frosting. Place stars on brim.
10. Place cut side of round cake against brim. Scrape all but 1 1/2 tsp peach frosting onto center of round cake; spread over top. Glue assembled beard in place. Set mini Kisses in place.
11. Snip 1/2 in. off corner of bag with untinted frosting. Pipe frosting on sides of cake, then spread smooth. Pipe eyebrows and moustache. Pipe a band of frosting around face (for hair). Pipe remaining frosting to cover beard. Run tines of a fork lightly through frosting to simulate hair.
12. Scrape reserved peach frosting off a spoon to make nose. Divide pink frosting in half and dab in place for cheeks; swirl with finger. Cut corner off bag with red frosting; pipe on mouth.
Tip:
If you don’t have a serving platter or tray in the size needed, cover
a piece of heavy cardboard, a plastic-foam board or a baking sheet with
foil
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