Candy Cane Cake

i always love new recipes...and my favorite are ones that are easy and really cute. I found this recipe in a magazine and thought i'd share it with you...








Candy Cane Cake

Cake
1 box white cake mix
water, oil, and eggs called for on cake mix box
1/2 tsp. red food color
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. milk or water
1/2 tsp. vanilla, if desired

Decoration
crushed candy canes or hard peppermint candies, if desired

1. heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan. make batter as directed on box. pour about 2 cups of the batter into pan. into small bowl, pour about 3/4 cup batter; stir in food color and peppermint extract. carefully pour pink batter over white batter in pan. carefully pour remaining white batter over pink batter.

2. bake as directed on box or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 min. turn pan upside down onto cooling rack; remove pan. cool cake completely, about 1 hour.

3. in small bowl, mix icing ingredients. if necessary, stir in additional milk 1 tsp. at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Spread icing over cake. Sprinkle top with crushed candy. store loosely covered.

***the first time i made this (last week) i got the icing to thin - more like a glaze. it soaked into the cake making it kinda soggy, SO i am going to try again, but this time i think i will just sprinkle the top with powdered sugar and just leave the icing off. So be careful when making your icing! a little milk goes a LONG way.