"Enjoy a peaceful picnic with this delicious cake."

crash-the-picnic cake

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Prep Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: 35-45 min.
Decoration Time: 45 min.
Difficulty: Challenging
Yield: Makes 20 servings

1 16-oz. box pound cake mix
1 small tube chocolate decorating frosting
1 16-oz. can vanilla frosting
Red food coloring

For decoration:

8 pieces yellow and 3 red STARBURST® Fruit Chews
¼ cup chopped SNICKERS® Bars
7 vanilla wafers
¾ cup M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies
1 9-inch square cake pan(s)
Resealable plastic bags
Serrated knife

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment or wax paper; grease and flour it.
2. Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions. Transfer batter to the prepared cake pan.
3. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Transfer the cake to a serving platter. Tint 1/2 cup of vanilla frosting red and then spoon it into a resealable plastic bag with the corner snipped off; set aside. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Pipe a grid on the cake with 1 1/2-inch squares. Fill in every other square with the remaining red frosting.
To decorate:
The Platter
5. Using your fingertips, soften and shape 8 yellow STARBURST® Fruit Chews into one 4-1/2-inch circle. If necessary, trim any rough edges of the circle with scissors. Place this circle in the center of the cake (you can also microwave the STARBURST® Fruit Chews for 5 to 10 seconds to soften them before shaping).
The Hamburgers
6. Soften SNICKERS® Bars in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds. When cool enough to handle, form patties about the size of the vanilla wafers. Sandwich each patty in between two vanilla wafers. Makes 4 hamburgers.
The Hot Dogs
7. Gently soften 3 red STARBURST® Fruit Chews. Roll each one into a small hot dog. Gently cut the vanilla wafers in half by lightly sawing the cookie using a serrated knife. Sandwich one "hot dog" in between two halves of a vanilla wafer. Arrange these along with the "hamburgers" on top of the platter in the center of the cake. Makes 3 hot dogs.
The Ants
8. Arrange 2 brown M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies together for each ant’s body. Pipe legs with the chocolate decorating frosting. Arrange several "ants" going towards the center of the cake. Line the cake’s base with assorted colors of M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies.
9. Decorating Tips: Instead of coloring in squares to make a checkerboard cloth, simply pipe red icing into a grid and then decorate the top with gummy hotdogs and hamburgers. Or, use squares of red fruit leather to form the checkerboard pattern.