Hot Dog, What A Cake!

Photo: flickr user Ed Yourdon

Ingredients

2 frozen pound cakes (16 oz. each), thawed

3 Twinkies (1.4 oz. sponge cakes with creamy filling)

1 (16 oz.) can ready-to-spread vanilla frosting

Liquid or paste food colors

Green gumdrops or 1 green Life Savers candy (top of bottle)

1 flexible drinking straw

Preparation

Cut pound cakes as shown below. Cut Twinkies and run a long, thin skewer through them. Spread cake "fries" in a single layer in a baking pan and broil 5-6 inches from heat source 1-2 minutes, turning pieces once until lightly toasted. Let cool.

Spoon about 1 3/4 cups frosting into a bowl. Stir in water, 1/2 teaspoonful at a time, until thinned to the consistency of mayonnaise. To frost and assemble hot dog and French fries carton: Spoon 1 cup thinned frosting into a small bowl. Stir in red food color until deep pink. Spoon about half into a cup and reserve for French fries carton. Add green and yellow food color, one drop at a time, to remaining pink frosting until color of frankfurters. Spread over top and sides of Twinkies.

Place"bun" on serving platter. Holding end of skewer, lift "hot dog" into bun. Remove skewer. With oiled sharp knife, cut gumdrops in small dice. Place at sides of hot dog. Put 1/4 cup thinned frosting into a cup. Stir in yellow food color until mustard-colored. Scrape into a plastic sandwich-size food bag. Snip off a small corner and pipe "mustard" on hot dog. Add more red food color to reserved thinned pink frosting until deep shade of red. With "carton" upright, frost top edge and all sides. Place carton on platter. Fill with "French fries" and sc

To frost and assemble soda bottle: Stir green food color into remaining thinned frosting until the color of a cola bottle. With "bottle" upright, frost all sides. For bottle label, roll one gumdrop with a rolling pin until flattened. Cut in shape of label and press on bottle. Set Life Savers candy on to of bottle. Cut a few inches off straw and insert in candy. Place bottle on serving platter.

Serves 10.

HOT DOG: Cut and line up Twinkies as shown. Run a skewer through all three (this makes them easier to lift to the bun), leaving end sticking out.

BUN: Cut "trench" as shown. Slide knife under cut piece and lift out. Save to make "French fries". Trim thin slice off each long side, slightly tapering from top to bottom.

FRENCH FRIES CARTON: Cut a 3-inch piece off one end of the second pound cake. Trim the sides slightly so "carton" tapers. Stand piece upright. On top, make a 1/2-inch cut from outer edges and 1 1/2 inches deep all the way around. Carefully scoop out center with a grapefruit knife or small spoon.

FRENCH FRIES: Cut cake removed from "trench" and other scraps in 2 to 3-inch long "fries".

SODA BOTTLE: Score outline of soda bottle with tip of a knife on remaining piece of cake (or draw bottle on paper, cut out, place on cake and use as a guide). Cut out bottle shape. Reserve trimmings for French fries. Stand bottle up and sculpt shape by shaving off pieces of cake with a sharp knife.