Sunflower Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

• Vegetable oil for greasing
• 1 package (430 g) of yellow sponge cake mix (+ additional ingredients needed)

Glaze

• 550 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 10 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• A large pinch of coarse salt
• 3-6 tablespoons whole milk
• 50 drops chocolate brown gel food coloring
• 1/4 tsp lemon yellow gel food coloring
• 6 drops golden yellow gel food coloring
• 1 cup coated brown chocolate candies, such as M&M's
• Special equipment: pastry bag with a 2 cm plain round tip (No. 804); pastry bag with a 0.5 cm plain round tip (No. 803)

Preparation:

1. Place baking sheets in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Grease the bottoms and sides of two 8-inch round cake pans.
2. Cake:
   
   Mix the dough according to the package directions. Divide the dough evenly among the prepared pans. Bake the cakes, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 23-28 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto wire racks and let cool completely.
3. Glaze:
   
   Meanwhile, combine the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and 3 tablespoons of milk in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Beat with the paddle attachment on low speed until smooth. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until smooth, adding more milk as needed to create a smooth frosting.
4. Place 1 cup of frosting in a small bowl and tint with brown gel food coloring. Spoon the brown frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a 2 cm round tip (No. 804).
5. Tint the remaining frosting with lemon yellow and golden yellow food coloring. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip (#803) with 3 cups of yellow frosting.
6. Cover the remaining yellow frosting (about 3 1/4 cups) with plastic wrap and set aside for decorating the cake.
7. Assembly:
   
   Place one cake layer upside down on a very large cutting board or platter (at least 20 x 14 inches). Using a serrated knife, cut the second cake layer into 8 triangles. Lightly trim the rounded side of each triangle to make it flat; discard the trimmings. Arrange the triangles around the cake layer, cut side inward, to create a sunflower shape.
8. Pipe a circle of yellow frosting around the center cake to create a 1cm border.
9. Spread the remaining yellow icing in the bowl evenly over the top and sides of the cake (including the petals), leaving only the portion inside the outline uncovered.
10. Pipe a continuous swirl of brown frosting inside the yellow border, starting at the edge of the border and working toward the middle until the center of the cake is filled with frosting.
11. Place one brown candy on its side in the center of the brown icing. Place a second candy next to it, leaving a space the size of the same candy between them. Continue arranging candies around the center, moving toward the edge and placing successive rows of candies in the spaces between the previous rows, until the center of the cake is filled.
12. Holding the piping bag with the remaining yellow frosting at a 45-degree angle, pipe a small amount of frosting onto the edge of one of the cake petals, leaving a pointed tip. Repeat this motion, working your way toward the tip of the petal, until the petal is filled. Repeat with the remaining petals. Slice the cake and serve.