Garden Cake

For Easter we had brunch at some friends' house. I made my granola and bought some yogurt to put on top of it. But I wanted to make something fun! I had seen people make dirt cakes before and decided to make a garden cake. It was fun and easy to make! And everyone enjoyed it! This recipe makes 2 cakes and you can get 8 generous pieces out of each cake. (Pictures to come)

Garden Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix

2 clay pot bases that are 8"

2 large tubs chocolate frosting at room temp (you won't use all of the 2nd tub.)

16 Oreo cookies w/o filling (use an offset spatula or back of a butter knife to scrape off the filling)

"plants" for your garden (I used chocolate rocks, orange cry babies for carrots, and candy flowers, but you can use anything edible you can find to put in your "garden")

Wash the clay pot bases with hot water (no soap) and let air dry before using. Brush vegetable oil on the pots then line with tin foil and brush more oil on the tin foil. This makes the cake come out easily. Make the cake according to the directions on the box and pour into the prepared pots. Bake in the oven as directed on the box. Using a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake check to see if it's done after 35 minutes. Keep an eye on it after that. Mine took 45 minutes total. It will take longer than the box says because of the clay pots.

Once the cakes are done put the pots on a cooling rack until they are completely cooled. Once they are cooled frost thickly with chocolate frosting. Put the chocolate cookie pieces of the Oreos in a plastic baggie and seal tightly. Using a rolling pin, your hands, or a mallet crush the cookies very finely. This is your "dirt". Sprinkle the "dirt" evenly on the cakes and gently pat on to make it stick.

Now you're ready to decorate with your garden rocks and plants. That's it!