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Planning Tip: The cake layers may be wrapped and frozen up to
1 month.
The cake can be prepared through Step 4 up to 3 days ahead. Cover with a bowl or pot and refrigerate.
Tip:
If you can't find the same candies we used, improvise with others.
Two 8- or 9-in, cooled, baked cake layers,
frozen at least 2 hours for easier cutting
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)
Beach sand: 10 vanilla
wafer cookies, crushed to fine sandlike crumbs.
Blue,green, yellow and red food color
Crystal sugar (optional)
Decorations
for side of cake:
Sea sand (multicolored nonpareils)(nonpareils are small pellets of sugar in various colors)
Seaweed
(sugared green sour stick candy, cut with scissors)
Seashell-shaped candies
Fish-shaped crackers
1 box (4-serving
size) berry blue gelatin
Decorations for top of cake:
Lifeguards chair (4 thin pretzel sticks and graham cracker
cut to 1-1/2 x l in. for chair back, 1 x 1 in. for seat; red sour belt candy for red cross)
Volleyball net (green apple
Air Heads bar, net marked with back of a knife, ends pressed around pretzel sticks)
Volleyball (white gum ball)
Beach
balls (striped round peppermint candies)
Life preservers (gummi rings)
Pail and shovel (spice drops cut to shape;
licorice- lace handles)
Red raft with pillow (strawberry Air Heads bar shaped with fingers)
Beach towels and surfboard
(striped stick chewing gum, cut in half far towels; trimmed to shape for surfboard)
Teddy Grahams cookies
1.
Ocean: Starting 1-1/4 in. from edge of 1 frozen cake layer, cut out a kidney-
shaped piece of cake about 2-1/2 in. across
in the middle, cut all the way through cake. (Use photograph as a guide.) Reserve cutout piece of cake. Place uncut cake layer
on a serving plate; spread top with 1/2 cup frosting. Set cake with cutout ocean on top. Spoon cup frosting into a bowl, cover
and set aside.
2. Mound for beach: Cut an oval about 3 in. long, 2 in. wide from reserved cutout cake. Trim mound
to about 1/2 in. high.
3. Carefully frost sides of cake, inside of ocean (be sure entire inside is coated) and top
of cake near inner curve of ocean. Set mound in place at curve. Cover with frosting, spreading frosting so it slopes down
to top of cake. Shield rest of cake, then carefully sprinkle beach sand on mound. Press sand gently to adhere.
4.
Transfer 2 Tbsp frosting from reserved cup frosting to a cup; cover and set aside. Tint whats left of the cup frosting blue.
Spoon 1 Tbsp blue frosting into a sturdy ziptop bag. Spread remaining blue frosting with a small metal spatula on unfrosted
border on top of cake and into waves around upper sides of cake. Sprinkle top with crystal sugar. Press to adhere.
5.
Decorations for side of cake; Dip a toothpick into blue food color and dot eyes on fish crackers. Press other decorations
and fish in place. Cut tip off corner of bag with blue frosting. Pipe bubbles coming from fish (save a bit of frosting in
bag).
6. Prepare gelatin as directed on box for speed-set. When ice cubes are removed, use a small ladle to slowly
fill ocean to about 1/4 in. from top. Refrigerate cake 2 hours or until gelatin is very firm.
7. Use about l tsp.
of the reserved 2 Tbsp white frosting to frost back of lifeguards chair and to glue red cross in place and assemble chair;
set aside to dry.
8. Teddy Grahams: Divide remaining reserved frosting among 4 cups; tint each a different color.
Dip a toothpick into blue food color; dot eyes on vanilla bears. Pipe blue frosting left in bag for eyes on chocolate bears.
Using a toothpick or small paintbrush, paint bathing suits and features on bears. Set aside to dry.
9. Up to 1
hour before serving: Set bears and decorations for top of cake in place; refrigerate.
Serves 12.
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