Jody McDevitt's "SNOOKUMS" THE LAMB

   1 box (about 18 ounces) cake mix, any flavor
   2 1/2 cans (16 ounces each) ready-to-spread vanilla frosting
   Red and yellow food color 
   Red decorating gel (from a 0.68-ounce tube)
   Eyes and nose: 3 black jelly beans
   1 bag (10.5 ounces) mini-marshmallows

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease two 9-inch round pans. Have ready a serving surface at
least 18x14 1/2 inches.

2. Prepare cake mix, divide batter between prepared pans and bake following package
directions. Cool in pans on wire rack 15 minutes. Invert cakes on rack and cool
completely.

3. Cut 1 cake as shown (diagram A). Arrange pieces, except nose and bow tie knot
(diagram B). 4. Use dabs of frosting to "glue" nose on face, knot on bow tie and to attach
ears and bow tie to head.

5. Frosting: For center of ears, tint 1/4 cup frosting with red food color until pink. For
bow tie, tint 1 cup frosting yellow. Spoon 2 tablespoons plain frosting into a pastry bag
fitted with small writing tip.

6. Using a small metal spatula, spread pink frosting on center of ears. Spread yellow
frosting over bow tie and knot. Frost ears, head and face with remaining untinted
frosting, building icing up slightly around nose and mouth. To texture icing around face
to resemble fuzzy wool, rest spatula on frosting, then quickly pull spatula up. With red
decorating gel, pipe mouth and outline face and pink areas on ears. With plain icing in
pastry bag, pipe lines on bow tie.

7. Press jelly-bean eyes in place. Cut remaining jelly bean in half, and attach for nose.
Gently press marshmallows into frosting outside of piped borders on head, ears and bow
tie.

NOTE: Cake Tips

* If you're baking more than one pan at a time, stagger the pans so the air can circulate
around them.
* For easier cutting, bake, cool and loosely wrap cakes one day ahead.
* If you don't have a large platter or serving tray for the cake, cut a large piece of
cardboard or sheet of plastic foam to size and cover it with foil.
* To keep serving tray free of frosting, tuck 3-inch-wide strips of waxed paper under the
edges of the cake before frosting. Pull strips away when finished.
* Before frosting, brush cakes to remove loose crumbs. To keep crumbs from getting
mixed in when spreading frosting, have the spatula touch only the frosting--not the
cake itself.
* For deep colors use paste food colors (available in cake-decorating and cookware
stores). Liquid food colors are OK, but much less vibrant.

* Serves 12.