Flip-Flops Cake

A fun cake from Woman's Day magazine. Made this for my daughter's 10th b-day, and she loved it. I used Funfetti cake mix, whipped frosting, and regular food coloring. The sour belt candies are Air Heads brand. We traced a flip flop on a piece of paper and cut around the cut-out to make the shapes. The cake can be made up to 3 days ahead before frosting. Have fun with it!!

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 1 cake

Ingredients

• 1 (18 1/4ounce) box  yellow cake mix
• 1 (3 1/2ounce) box vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1  cup water
• 4  eggs
• 1⁄3 cup  oil
• 2 (16 ounce) containers  white frosting
•  green and pink gel or paste  food coloring
• 8  rainbow sour belt  candies
• 4  red sour belts  candies

Directions

1. You will also need: graham cracker crumbs; shell-shaped cookies and/or chocolates; gummy fish and starfish (for decoration).
2. Heat oven to 350ºF. You'll need a 13 x 9-in. baking pan coated with nonstick spray, bottom lined with wax paper and sprayed. You'll also need a sturdy serving surface about 20 x 16 inches.
3. Prepare cake mix as directed for yellow pound cake, using pudding, water, eggs and oil. Pour batter into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan, peel off paper and cool completely.
4. With long serrated knife, trim top of cake horizontally to make level (if needed). Cut out 2 flip-flop shapes, each about 10 1/2 x 5 inches Place on serving surface.
5. Tint 1/2 cup frosting light green. Transfer to small freezer ziptop bag with small hole snipped in one corner. Tint remaining frosting pink. Spread tops and sides of cakes with pink frosting.
6. Cut each rainbow sour belt lengthwise into two strips and arrange on cakes to make stripes, cutting as necessary to fit. Pipe decorative border of green frosting around top edges of cakes.
7. For straps, cut two 6 1/2-in. pieces from red sour belts. Pinch two ends together on diagonal to attach. Trim remaining ends to round; place on top of one cake. Repeat to make strap for remaining cake.
8. Sprinkle serving surface with graham cracker crumbs. If desired, decorate with shell-shaped cookies and chocolates, gummy fish and starfish.
9. Each Flip-Flop measures 10 1/2 x 5 inches.