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Black-Cat-Shaped Cake
Ingredients:
Cake-Shaping Strip (from 11 sushi-mat segments)
Heavy-duty aluminum foil
Sheet pan
Prepared cake batter (see the Chocolate-Orange Swirl Cake batter or prepare batter using about 1 1/2 boxes of cake mix)
Dark frosting (see the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe or about 2 (16-ounce) containers of white frosting dyed black)
White frosting (about 1/2 (16-ounce) container of white frosting)
Food dye
Instructions:
1. Line a sheet pan with a horizontal sheet of heavy-duty foil. Shape the Cake-Shaping Strip into a shape of a cat. (The foil will likely not cover the cat's legs.) Exaggerate the spatial features, as they'll seem smaller after you unwrap and ice the cake. Wrap the bottom foil layer around the strip. Cut the foil or use extra foil pieces where needed to wrap around the strip. Slide extra strips of foil under the legs and tail and wrap them around the cake-shaping strip. Pack in extra foil wads (that begin as being loosely packed) around the back arches and between the legs.
2. Prepare your cake batter. Spray the strip and foil with cooking spray. Pour the cake batter into the prepared "pan". Bake the cake until done, and let the cake cool.
3. Cut away any cake batter that leaked through the strip. Carefully remove the Cake-Shaping Strip. Insert the flat edge of a table knife between the strip and the cake if this helps.
4. Dye portions of the white frosting colors desired for the cat's facial features (e.g., green for the eyes, pinkish-gray for the ears and nose, gray for the whiskers, and remaining white for the eyes). Then pipe or carefully spread the facial features on.
5. Spread a rather thick layer of frosting on the cake (being careful around the facial features). Then take a flat edge of a table knife, press it into the frosting and pull it up. Repeat this process over the chocolate-buttercream layer.
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