Wild About You Leopard Print Cake

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Favorite white cake mix (2 boxes needed)
• Favorite vanilla instant pudding mix (2 boxes needed - 3.4oz each)
• Brown Icing Color*
• Black Icing Color*
• Christmas Red Icing Color*
• Creamy White Decorator Icing - 4lb Tub (4 cups needed)
• Decorator Preferred White Fondant (61oz needed)
• Solid vegetable shortening
• Edible Metallic Cake Paint
• 9" round cake pan (3 pans needed)
• 13" angled spatula
• Disposable Decorating Bags
• Round Decorating Tip 8 (3 tips needed)
• Cooling grid
• 11" straight spatula
• 20" fondant roller
• 20" fondant roller guide rings
• Ruler
• Fondant smoother
• Fondant trimmer
• Plastic wrap
• Measuring mat
• 5pc Decorating Brush Set

*Combine Brown, Black and Christmas Red icing colors to get tan and brown colors shown.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare 2 boxes white cake mix using egg whites only. Add pudding mix.
2. Tint 5 cups batter tan and 1 cup batter brown using color combination provided. Using black icing color, tint 2 cups batter black. Pour 1/2 cup tan batter in first prepared cake pan. Spread evenly with spatula.
3. Prepare three decorating bags with tip 8. Fill separately with black, brown and tan batter. Using bag with black batter, pipe four irregular circles in pan. Cover black circles using bag with brown batter.
4. Using bag with tan batter, fill in gaps between circles.
5. Repeat, piping black batter circles on top of brown circles one more time in same pan. Fill in and cover with tan batter. Tap lightly on surface to remove air bubbles.
6. Repeat entire step with remaining two pans.
7. Bake and cool following recipe instructions. Assemble cake. Level, fill and stack cake layers for 5" high cake. Ice cake smooth. Tint 8oz white fondant tan and 9oz brown using color combinations provided. Using Black icing color, tint 9oz black. Decorate cake. Using fondant roller with orange guide rings, roll out 28oz white fondant. Cut strip measuring 29" long and 5" wide. Wrap around cake, smoothing and trimming as necessary.
8. Using fondant roller with orange guide rings, roll out tan fondant to a 9" circle. Using a damp brush, attach small pieces of brown fondant to tan fondant (flatten brown fondant slightly with fingers).
9. Using black fondant, roll small logs between fingers. Attach to outer edges of brown spots. Make small black dots of fondant, pressing between brown spots. Using fondant roller, gently roll over circle to inlay spots. Position fondant on top of cake, trimming off excess as necessary.
10. Using fondant roller with GUIDE RINGS, roll out black fondant. Cut 112 squares measuring 1/2" in size. Also cut 28 strips measuring 1/2" wide and 3" long. Repeat with white fondant. Keep squares and strips covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
11. Using decorating brush, lightly brush sides of cake with shortening. Attach black and white squares to top half of cake, creating checkerboard pattern (should be 4 rows of black and white squares).
12. Position black strips vertically around bottom half of cake, trimming as necessary. Black strips should line up with white squares from previous row.
13. Using decorating brush and gold metallic paint, paint white strips gold.

Craft Hack Tips and Tricks:

• To roll fondant around cake, roll strip on fondant roller, starting at narrow side. Place against cake, then unroll onto cake. Make sure icing is still tacky before adhering fondant to cake.