Jack-o-lantern cake

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
  
       Title: JACK-O-LANTERN CAKE
  Categories: Holiday, Cakes
       Yield: 24 Servings
  
 ------------------------------------CAKE------------------------------------
   2 1/4 c  Sugar
   1 1/2 c  Buttermilk
       1 c  Vegetable oil
       6 lg Eggs
       1 tb Vanilla
       1 tb Baking powder
     3/4 ts Baking soda
     1/2 ts Salt
   5 1/4 c  Flour
 
 ----------------------------------DECORATE----------------------------------
       2 cn Vanilla frosting (16 oz ea)
       2 tb Unsweetened cocoa powder
       1 ts Milk
   1 1/2 ts Orange paste food color
       4 oz Milk chocolate
       1    Brown M&M candy
  
   Heat oven to 350~. Grease and flour one 10 3/4 oz clean soup can (remove
   label), and a 6 cup bundt pan. (If you have two 6 cup bundt pans, you can
   bake both havlves at the same time.) Put all CAKE ingredients except flour
   in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer or wooden spoon until blended.
   Gradually add flour and beat until thick and smooth. Pour 3/4 c batter into
   soup can. Pour half of remaining batter (about 3 1/4 c) into prepared bundt
   pan. Bake soup can 30 minutes, bundt pan 45 minutes or until pick inserted
   in middle of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack; soup can 5
   minutes, cake 15 minutes. Invert on rack and cool cakes completely. Wash,
   grease and flour bundt pan. Add remaining batter. Bake and cool as above.
    TO ASSEMBLE: Trim bottoms of bundt cakes with a serrated knife until flat.
   Place 1 cake flat side up on serving plate. Tuck strips of waxed paper
   under edges of cake to keep plate clean while frosting. Place other cake
   flat side down on first cake, lining up ridges. Frosting: In a cup mix 1/3
   c vanilla frosting, the cocoa powder and milk. Scrape rest of frosting into
   a large bowl. Stir in food color (color will darken on standing) Stem: Cut
   1 1/2 inch thick slice from 1 end of soup can cake. Push slice gently into
   hole in pumpkin. Top with dat of cocoa frosting. Using a small serrated
   knife, carve rest of can cake into a pumpkin stem. Press gently onto dab of
   frosting. Frost stem with remaining cocoa frosting. For the look of a
   fresh-cut stem, cut a thin diagonal slice off top to reveal cake in middle.
   With a small spatula, spread orange frosting on pumpkin from top to bottom
   w/vertical strokes. Cut two large triangles from chocolate bar for eyes and
   7 small triangles for teeth. Press into frosting. Use M&M for nose. For
   leaves, tendrils, etc. Melt 6 oz white baking bars (white chocolate) in
   small bowl over simmering water (or microwave for 2 min.) Stir in 1/8 tsp
   green food color paste until blended, then add 3 Tbs lite corn syrup
   (mixture will thicken and look grainy) Wrap and refrigerate for 30 min. (If
   chilled longer, it will harden) Leave at room temp. until just pliable.
   Knead and pull mixture, holding it over was paper, until like modeling clay
   (oil will ooze out while kneading) Place between sheets of plastic wrap and
   with a rolling pin roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out 3 pumpkin leaves and
   mark veins using blunt side of knife blade. For tendrils, roll small pieces
   between palms of hands into spaghettilike strands. Wrap around a pencil and
   then slip off. Arrange leaves and tendrils on pumpkin. Use colored frosting
   to "paint" clothes on Teddy Graham bears to set on top of pumpkin. Only
   paint one color at a time, letting each dry.
    NOTE 1: Paste food color can be found in cake decorating and party-supply
   shops and some cookware stores. They are very strong. Add only a tiny
   amount at a time.
    NOTE 2: If using bears, reserve an additional 1/3 c vanilla frosting for
   their "clothes".
  
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