Recipes and Cooking Sunflower Cake Be the first to rate & review! This sunflower cake would make a perfect centerpiece for a summer birthday (or any occasion that calls for cake). Keep this on your list of cake ideas for the next time you need an impressive dessert recipe! By BHG Test Kitchen BHG Test Kitchen The Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen has been in continuous operation for nearly 100 years, developing and testing practical, reliable recipes that readers can enjoy at home. The Test Kitchen team includes culinary specialists, food stylists, registered and licensed nutritionists, and other experts with Bachelor of Science degrees in food science, food and nutrition, or culinary arts. Together, the team tests more than 2,500 recipes, produces more than 2,500 food images, and creates more than 1,000 food videos each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on February 8, 2019 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Prep Time: 1 hrs 15 mins Cool Time: 1 hrs Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins Ingredients 1 recipe Yellow Cake or one package 2-layer-size cake mix 2 recipes Creamy White Frosting or three 16-ounce cans white frosting 8 ladyfingers food coloring yellow nonpareils or sprinkles semisweet chocolate pieces or chocolate-flavor sprinkles green and yellow gumdrops sliced almonds Yellow Cake ¾ cup butter 3 eggs 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 ¾ cup sugar 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 ¼ cup milk Creamy White Frosting 1 cup shortening 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon almond extract 1 16 ounce package powdered sugar (about 4 cups) 3 tablespoon milk Directions Prepare, bake, and cool cake as directed for two 8x1/2-inch or 9x1 1/2-inch round cake pans. Using a serrated knife, cut one of the cake layers into six or eight wedges. Trim the rounded side of each wedge to make a triangle. Place the second cake layer on a large, flat serving platter. Arrange wedges, pointed tips out, around cake layer. Meanwhile, prepare frosting. Tint two-thirds of the frosting using orange paste food coloring. Spread tops and sides of round cake and cake triangles with orange frosting for the flower center and outer petals. Tint remaining frosting yellow. Separate 8 or 9 ladyfingers. Frost ladyfinger halves with yellow frosting; sprinkle with yellow nonpareils or other sprinkles. Arrange ladyfinger halves around center of flower for inner petals. Sprinkle center of flower with miniature semisweet chocolate pieces of chocolate-flavor sprinkles to resemble sunflower seeds. To create a flower stem, on a surface sprinkled with granulated sugar, use your hands to roll a large green gumdrop into a rope. Flatten and cut additional large green gumdrops into leaf shapes; tuck stem under flower and press leaves onto stem. For bees, use your hands to shape yellow gumdrops into oblong shapes. Insert sliced almonds into gumdrops for wings. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip with chocolate or black tinted frosting. Pipe stripes onto bees; arrange bees on flower. Yellow Cake Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour two 9x1-1/2-inch or 8x1-1/2-inch round cake pans or grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set pan(s) aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat for 2 minutes more. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter in the prepared pan(s). Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes for 9-inch pans, 30 to 35 minutes for 8-inch pans, 25 to 30 minutes for 13x9x2-inch pan, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center(s) comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; cool thoroughly on wire racks. Or place the 13x9x2-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly. Frost with desired frosting. Creamy White Frosting In a large mixing bowl beat shortening, vanilla, and almond extract with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the milk. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough of the remaining milk to reach spreading consistency. Rate it Print