Leopard Print Cake

I have chosen to use leopard print baking moulds as in the photo at left and Related Products at bottom to continue the leopard theme but you can bake in regular loaf tins.

Cake Ingredients:
Vanilla cake batter from scratch or 2 box mixes (It needs to be a thick batter)
Black and brown food colouring

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients:
250 gms cream cheese
60 gms softened butter
2- 2½ cups icing sugar

Equipment:
Piping bags
Loaf tins or cardboard baking moulds
3 Mixing bowls

Step 1:
Make a double quantity of a ‘from scratch’ cake mix or 2 boxed vanilla cake mixes. Divide the batter into 3 ‘leopard’ colours. Leave the largest amount as is and add brown and black colouring to the other two separate bowls. Fill 3 piping bags with the 3 different colours.

Step 2:
Snip off the ends of the piping bags, the uncoloured batter can be piped with a larger hole than the black and brown. Pipe a thin layer of uncoloured batter into the base of your baking mould or loaf tin.

Step 3:
Take your black batter and pipe two lines down the length of the baking mould.

Step 4:
Take your brown batter and pipe on top of your black lines.

Step 5:
Pipe black batter again on top of the brown lines.

Step 6:
Pipe a layer of plain batter to cover the black and brown lines. The purpose of using a piping bag is so you don’t distort the lines of black and brown piping.

Step 7:
Repeat this process piping as many lines of black and brown batter as you like. The closer the lines, the more spots you will have in the finished cake.

Step 8:
Varying the placement of the piped lines will ensure a more varied finished pattern.

The completed cakes tend to take slightly longer to bake than a plain vanilla cake mix. These cakes are iced with cream cheese icing (see recipe below).

To Make Leopard Cupcakes
Step 1:
Using the same 3 bags of coloured batter pipe a small amount of plain batter on the base of each patty pan. Then pipe small black dots of batter randomly over base – as many as you can fit.

Step 2:
Pipe brown batter on top of the black and then more black batter on top of the brown. Cover in plain batter then repeat the same procedure until the patty pan is two
thirds full, finishing with plain batter layer.

Cream Cheese Icing
Step 1:
Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.

Step 2:
Gradually incorporate the icing sugar until it is of spreadable consistency.

You can use this technique in the loaf tins as well however it doesn’t ensure that each slice will show ‘spots’. The baking moulds are extremely convenient for transporting and you can slice your cake in front of people to reveal the unique interior. However a loaf tin can be sliced and plated for just as eye catching effect.

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Original article and pictures take http://www.confectionatelyyours.com.au/Free-Recipes?product_id=989 site