Timing Is Everything: Homemade birthday cakes... Cake 1

So August is a VERY busy month- full of birthdays. Just in my immediate family, my husband, sister, my aunt and nephew then we have 5 friends. So it's a busy month!

Last Saturday we had a birthday party to celebrate with some of them, and I was in charge of making the cake. I wanted to to something fun and different.... So I decided to make a cake within a cake!!

This is the finished product. And yes I made sure to get all 7 names on there!

So... Lets get started.

Supplies-

I used I box of red velvet cake mix

2 boxes of French vanilla cake mix

(Followed the directions on the boxes-but I used applesauce instead of oil)

Small star cookie cutter

2 tubs of whipped chocolate icing

1 rub gel icing

Decoration came in a little pack from Walmart (only $6, SCORE!)

The red velvet I baked in a jelly roll pan. It was 13x9" and 1" thick. Before I poured the cake mix in I laid down some wax paper, then poured in the mix.

I baked it at 350 for 25 minutes... Ovens vary so just check yours. I use the ok tooth pick check.

When done I let it cool for about 5 minutes then I removed the wax paper and the cake, so it could really cool.

While the red velvet is cooling, I mixed/prepared the vanilla cake.

Once cooled in started cutting out stars (using the smallest star I had)

I ended up getting about 30 stars

Okay.. So using a well oiled round pan, I poured some vanilla batter in to coat the bottom. Then I started stacking the stars in a circle, not touching but close.

Once done I then finished by pouring more vanilla cake mix on top.

Not pretty...

In the oven it went for about 30 minutes. Again.. Just watch it.

I baked 3 rounds to stack. Once they were all baked I wrapped them in wax paper, Saran Wrap and a dish towel then placed them in the freezer till Saturday morning. (That was 3 days away).... I freeze them warm.

So- Saturday morning started the fun part. DECORATING!!

While still frozen I stacked the cakes (with chocolate icing between each layer) and using a serrated knife I trimmed off the brown outer layer which also makes them even.