Vacuum Cleaner Cake

Vacuum Cleaner Cake

Surprise Inside!

Makes 16 servings

Sweet-O-Lux uses candy power to suck you in! It’s made from a flavor-painted loaf cake, and it has a Golden Oreo flex hose and mini doughnut wheels. No bag needed, because the candy and cookie “dirt” are baked right in!

  • 1 recipe Perfect Pound Cake Mix (see recipe), Vacuum Cleaner Variation
  • 1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
  • Neon blue food coloring (McCormick)
  • 2 vanilla snack-cake squares (Entenmann’s Mini Pound Cakes)
  • ½ cup white candy melting wafers (Wilton)
  • 26 creme-filled vanilla sandwich cookies (Golden Oreos)
  • 1 stick white gum (Extra)
  • 1 large black spice drop
  • 2 black licorice laces
  • 1 tablespoon vodka or lemon extract (McCormick)
  • 2 blue sour belts (Sour Power)
  • 8 blue candy-coated chocolates (M&M’s)
  • 1 vanilla margherite cookie (Stella D’oro)
  • 4 mini powdered-sugar doughnuts
  • Assorted small candies and cookie crumbs

1 Trim ¼ inch from all 4 top edges of the cake to round them. Place the trimmed cake, rounded side up, on a cardboard cut to fit (see Getting on Base). Spread a thin crumb coating of frosting (see Got Crumbs?) on the cake, filling any gaps, and smooth. Place the cake in the freezer until set, about 30 minutes.

2 Spoon ¾ cup of the vanilla frosting into a freezer-weight ziplock bag. Press out the excess air and seal the bag.

 

3 Tint the remaining vanilla frosting very pale blue with the food coloring. Cover the frosting with plastic wrap until ready to use.

 

4 Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Trim 1½ inches from 1 long edge of 1 of the snack cakes and discard. Transfer the trimmed piece and the whole snack cake to the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.

5 Spread some of the blue frosting on the chilled, trimmed snack cake, leaving the cut side unfrosted, and smooth. Spread the remaining blue frosting on the chilled loaf cake and smooth. Return the cakes to the freezer for 15 minutes to chill the frosting.

6 Place the white candy melts in a freezer-weight ziplock bag; do not seal the bag. Microwave for 10 seconds to soften. Massage the candy in the bag, return to the microwave, and repeat the process until the candy is smooth. Press out the excess air and seal the bag.

7 For the cake supports, place 5 of the vanilla sandwich cookies on a cookie sheet. Snip a small (⅛-inch) corner from the bag of melted candy and pipe some of the candy on top of each cookie. Place another cookie directly on top of the candy, pressing to secure. Repeat to make 5 stacks of 3 cookies each. To make the vacuum hose, place 5 sandwich cookies on the cookie sheet. Add a pea-sized dot of melted candy near the edge of each cookie. Place a second sandwich cookie on top of the dot of candy, overhanging the edge of the bottom cookie by ½ inch, to make 5 cookie pairs (see photo, right). Refrigerate the cookie stacks until the candy is set, about 5 minutes. Reserve the remaining cookie.

8 Place one of the chilled cookie pairs on its edge. Using a dot of the melted candy, attach a second cookie pair, offsetting the cookie pairs by ½ inch. Repeat with a third cookie pair to make a row of 6 cookies, each pair offset by ½ inch. Hold the cookie assembly until set, about 3 minutes.

9 To make the plug for the vacuum, cut a ¾-inch piece, crosswise, from the stick of gum. Cut the small piece in half lengthwise; reserve the rest of the gum. Make 2 slits in the flat end of the spice drop. Insert a small cut piece of gum into each slit. To make the cord, poke a hole in the round end of the spice drop and insert the end of one of the licorice laces. Cut the remaining licorice lace into 16 pieces, each about ¾ inch long.

10 To make the on/off switch, cut the remaining piece of gum lengthwise into a ½-inch-wide strip. Press the dull side of a small knife into the strip of gum, crosswise, to mark it in half. Bend the gum slightly along the crease.

11 Arrange the 5 cookie supports on a serving platter in the approximate position of the 4 corners and the center of the vacuum cake. Snip a small (⅛-inch) corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe a dot of vanilla frosting on top of each cookie support. Using a large spatula, transfer the loaf cake to rest on top of the supports, adjusting the supports as needed.

12 Combine the vodka and a drop of the neon blue food coloring. Use a small pastry brush to paint the vodka mixture in horizontal strokes over the frosted loaf cake and snack cake (see Flavor Painting). Continue brushing to smooth any ridges in the frosting. Add a little more blue food coloring to the vodka mixture to deepen the color. Use a small craft brush to paint clusters of blue streaks onto the 2 cakes. Insert the 16 licorice pieces, in 2 rows, into the cut side of the frosted snack cake to make the brush.

13 Cut each blue sour belt into a 5-inch piece. Press a sour belt, lengthwise, on each long side of the loaf cake. Pipe SWEET-O-LUX on each sour belt with the vanilla frosting. Pipe 5 lines of vanilla frosting ¼ inch apart, crosswise, on the top at one short end of the cake, wrapping the lines about halfway around the sides. Pipe a small horizontal line on each side to join the ends of the 5 lines. Insert the licorice end of the candy plug near the bottom at the same end of the cake. Pipe some vanilla frosting on the opposite end of the cake and attach the whole unfrosted snack cake, bottom side against the cake. Push a straw through the center of the snack cake and into the loaf cake, trimming it flush with the snack cake, as added support. Pipe a decorative edge around the snack cake with vanilla frosting. To support the cookie handle, press 2 of the blue candies side by side on top of the cake and 2 more blue candies side by side 3 inches away. Pipe a dot of vanilla frosting on top of each candy and attach the flat side of the margherite cookie. Place the gum switch, crosswise, on top of the cake, midway between the handle and the snack cake, and pipe an outline of vanilla frosting around it.

14 Attach the doughnut wheels to the sides of the cake, next to the cookie supports, with some vanilla frosting. Pipe a dot of vanilla frosting in the center of each doughnut and attach one of the 4 remaining blue candies.

15 Attach the 6-cookie hose assembly to the unfrosted snack cake using vanilla frosting and balancing the hose between the snack cake and the platter. Arrange the remaining cookie and the 2 cookie pairs at the end of the hose assembly to create a flexible-looking hose, securing them with frosting. Pipe a dot of frosting on the last cookie in the assembly and attach the snack-cake brush. Pipe a decorative edge around the bristle end of the brush. Sprinkle the assorted candies and cookie crumbs in front of the brush.