More Theater Cakes

Okay, confession time. Once in a great while, life demands the use of a cake mix.

I know, I know, but stick with me here. When using a prepared mix, I always like to play with flavor combinations. (You didn't think I just added water and eggs, did you?) Pumpkin chocolate chip is one of my favorite last-minute recipes. And it all starts with a yellow cake mix. Cinnamon-brown sugar cream cheese filling complements this cake nicely.

the woods

Jack's cow. . .



The Into the Woods cake was for my “nephew” and “niece.” The woods part of the cake was a given, but it needed something more.

I read about this fairy tale character-filled show and discovered that two of the main characters were on a quest to find “the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold.” There was my something extra.

. . .Cinderella's slipper, Rapunzel's hair,
and Red Riding Hood's cape

The “Enchanted April” cake was to celebrate my niece’s fabulous performance last fall. In the play, four very different women answer a newspaper ad offering “sunshine and wisteria” at a seaside Italian villa for rent during the month of April.

I hand painted fondant applied to the side of the cake to make the villa and grounds and created the sea with blue, green, and white buttercream around the bottom of the cake. The rest of the cake I decorated with wisteria.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake (adapted from Cupcake Fun)

1 (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix

½ t nutmeg (I prefer freshly grated)
½ t cinnamon
1 ¼ c water
2 T vegetable oil
3 eggs
¾ c canned pumpkin
6 oz (half a package) mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

Combine cake mix, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add water, oil, and eggs and beat for two minutes with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin and mix until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz package cream cheese, softened

½ c confectioners’ sugar
½ t cinnamon
1 t brown sugar
¼ c milk

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with an electric mixer until well combined and fluffy.