Dalmation Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F Lightly grease or spray 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, combine cake mix, oats, water, milk, egg whites, oil, vanilla and almond extract. Beat 2 minutes with electric mixer on medium speed. Gently stir in 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Spread evenly into pan.
• Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until top springs back when pressed in center. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
• For frosting, combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and marshmallow creme in medium bowl; mix until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake. Sprinkle with coconut, if desired, and remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and 1 egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and 3 eggs on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Divide batter among muffin cups (1/4 cup in each). Top each with 1 heaping teaspoon cream cheese mixture.
• Bake 21 to 27 minutes or until tops spring back when touched lightly. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Frost with frosting. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottoms only of 2 (13x9-inch) pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper or cooking parchment paper; spray paper with cooking spray.
• Make and bake cake mixes as directed on boxes for 13x9-inch pans, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans to cooling racks. Remove waxed paper; place top side up on cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• With large serrated knife, trim off dome of cake to level surface, if needed. Line 2 small cookie sheets or trays with foil. Place 1 cake on each; cover with foil and loosely wrap each cake. Freeze about 5 hours or overnight until cakes are frozen. Meanwhile, cut out paper templates (template can be found under the Tips below).
• Remove cakes from freezer. Place templates over cakes as shown in photo. Cut cakes around templates. (Discard cake scraps or save for another use.) Round edges of muzzle to create dome shape for nose.
• Arrange cake pieces on paper-covered cardboard as shown in photo to assure correct placement. Move all smaller pieces to cookie sheet; return to freezer to keep frozen for easier frosting. Spread cookies'n'creme frosting over larger cake pieces on board to seal in crumbs. Add smaller pieces one by one, spreading cookies'n'creme frosting over all exposed edges to seal in crumbs. Freeze about 15 minutes to set frosting.
• Frost entire cake with remaining cookies'n'creme frosting. With offset metal spatula or knife, make wavy strokes to create furry appearance. Use extra frosting to round edges of muzzle and legs to blend into body.
• Place 2 brown candies on face for eyes and 1 mint for nose. Gently spoon cookie crumbs from frosting onto cake to make spots on dalmation. (If cookie crumbs do not want to stick to frosting, use spatula or knife to work frosting where you want to place crumbs, then sprinkle crumbs over freshly spread frosting.) Place dark chocolate frosting in small resealable plastic bag. Cut off small bottom corner of bag. Pipe mouth and paw prints onto cake. Cut taffy into 1x1/2-inch piece; round edges and make indentation down center to create tongue. Insert tongue into mouth. Fold chewy fruit snack in half lengthwise; place around neck as a collar and trim off excess. Using template, cut fire hydrant from remaining fruit snack. Place hydrant just below collar.
• Store cake loosely covered at room temperature or in refrigerator up to 1 day before serving.

Steps:

• On a powdered sugar-dusted surface, roll 12 ounces of white fondant into a 4 x 6-inch (10 x 15 cm) rectangle. Using about 4 ounces (100 G) of black fondant, break off small pieces and scatter over the top of the white fondant rectangle. Keeping the width as close to 4 inches (10 cm) as possible, roll the rectangle lengthwise and add a few more pieces of black fondant to the white spaces. Continue rolling and adding more black fondant until the rectangle is ⅛ inch thick and speckled in a dalmatian pattern. Sprinkle the fondant and rolling pin with more powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking.
• Using a 3-inch (7 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles of dalmatian fondant. Discard the scraps.
• Roll about 3 ounces of black fondant out to ⅛-inch thick and cut out 24 2-inch (5 cm) long leaf shapes. Discard the scraps. Wet the top of each leaf with water, then sprinkle the sparkling sugar sprinkles on top to cover completely. Set aside to dry for 5 minutes, or until the sprinkles are firmly adhered.
• Meanwhile, roll the remaining ounce of black fondant into 12 pea-sized ovals.
• Roll out the remaining 2 ounces (50 cm) of white fondant to ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Using a 1-inch (2.54 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out 24 circles, discarding the scraps. Slightly overlap 2 circles and press together, gently pulling the circles away from the overlapped area into more oval shapes. Use a toothpick to poke a speckled pattern onto the circles. Place a black fondant oval at the top center as a nose.
• In a small bowl, mix together ¼ cup (25 grams) buttercream frosting and the pink food coloring until you get the desired color for the dogs' tongues. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
• Spread 1 tablespoon of white buttercream evenly over each cupcake. Top each cupcake with a dalmatian fondant circle. Lightly wet the fondant, then place the white overlapping circles at the bottom of each cupcake. Use a bit of frosting to stick 2 candy eyeballs onto each cupcake. Pipe a bit of frosting at the top edges of each cupcake, then place 2 ears on each cupcake. Pipe a small oval of pink frosting at the bottom of the white circles as a tongue. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Enjoy!