Ingredients:

• 1 cake baked in a (1-quart) Pyrex bowl
• 1 (3 by 5-inch) loaf cake
• 1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
• Yellow food coloring
• 1 cup Runts
• ½ cup Rice Chex
• 4 strands red licorice laces
• 3 rainbow sour belts (Airheads)
• 1 wheat stick (Pringles)

What you’ll need:

• A serving platter
• A bread knife
• A resealable sandwich-size plastic bag (Ziploc)

Trimming the cake:

1. Trim the top of the cakes to make level.
2. Trim and arrange the cakes as pictured in the diagram below.

Frosting the cake:

1. Spoon ¼ cup of the vanilla frosting into a resealable bag. Spread some of the vanilla frosting over the balloon’s basket to cover and make smooth.
2. Starting along the bottom edge of the basket cake, arrange the rice cereal squares in rows to cover the sides of the balloon basket.
3. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting bright yellow with the food coloring.
4. Spread the yellow frosting over the balloon cake and cover completely. Make smooth.

To complete the decoration:

1. Arrange the licorice laces and sour belts across the round cake as pictured, trimming to fit.
2. Cut 4 pieces of red licorice laces to fit and attach from the bottom of the balloon to the top of the basket, as pictured.
3. Snip a small corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe dots of vanilla frosting around the top of the cake. Attach the Runts in desired pattern.
4. Insert the wheat stick at the top of the cake.
5. Trim a triangle into either end of a (3-inch) length of sour belt. Wrap the trimmed sour belt around the tip of the wheat stick and adhere with a small amount of frosting.

See all Incredible Birthday Cake Designs