A visit from the Cat in the Hat makes any day more special—but especially so when he’s in cupcake form! Bake and decorate these tasty treats with your child then enjoy them for a birthday celebration or other special occasion.
What you’ll need to make 12 Catcakes:
- your favorite one layer cake recipe
- 1 cupcake pan and 12 cupcake liners
- 12 flat-bottomed ice cream cones for hats
- 12 serving plates
- ingredients for decorator frosting (see recipe below)
- decorating bags, couplers and decorating tips (closed star, smooth basketweave, small round)
- a copy of The Cat in the Hat
Make your favorite cake recipe. Prepare the cupcake pan with liners and fill each cup 2/3 full with batter. The cupcake is the Cat’s head. Place an upside down ice cream cone in each cup for the Cat’s hat. Bake according to your recipe.
During baking, the cones will tilt as the batter rises and bakes into them. That will give your Cats’ hats a jaunty look! Carefully remove cupcakes (without pulling the cones) from pan to cool completely on a rack.
While cupcakes are cooling, start your frosting.
Decorator Frosting
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- ½ cup solid vegetable shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2-4 tablespoons milk (room temperature)
- black and red food coloring
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and shortening until fluffy. Add the sugar and continue mixing. Slowly add the milk and mix until smooth. If frosting seems too dry, add more milk.
Divide frosting in three bowls. Keep one bowl of frosting white. Color the other bowls of frosting red and black by adding food coloring, mixing until each color is uniform.
Prepare three decorating bags and fill each with a different color of frosting.
To decorate your Catcakes, remove the cupcake liner and place the cupcake on a plate. Depending on how your cake rose and the placement of the cone hat, determine where the Cat’s face will be. You may want to “round” your Cat’s face slightly by using a knife to trim away any excess cake.
Next, secure the cupcake on the plate by piping white icing piping around the base of the cupcake. Then, on the side of the cupcake and on the top part not covered by cone, use a closed star tip in your decorating bag of white icing to create the Cat’s white face. Continue to use the white icing to create the brim of the Cat’s hat around the ice cream cone. Keep using closed star tips with both red and white icing to create the Cat’s famous striped hat!
Using a closed star tip with the black icing, decorate around the Cat’s face and cover remaining areas. Change decorator tips and use a small round tip with the black icing to create the Cat’s eyes, nose and mouth. Have your copy of The Cat in the Hat handy to help you capture his whimsical grin! Finally, use the smooth basketweave tip with red icing to create the Cat’s bow.
These Cakecakes are tastiest the day you make them, but will stay fresh for a day as long as you don’t cover them tightly. (The cones get soggy when covered.) And of course they are best when served with a reading of The Cat in the Hat!