Zombie Cake

What You Need:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup strawberry yogurt
• 4 eggs
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 2 ¾ cups cake flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• ¼ cup pureed strawberries
• White frosting
• Green food coloring
• 2 round cake pans
• Non-stick cooking spray

What You Do:

1. Help your child preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Have him cover the bottoms and sides of both cake pans with a thin layer of non-stick cooking spray.
3. Let him combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs and milk in a large bowl.
4. Help him use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients into a smooth cream.
5. In another large bowl, have him mix the flour and baking powder together.
6. Dump the second bowl's ingredients into the first bowl.
7. Use the hand mixer until the batter is creamy.
8. Show your child how to fold the strawberry puree and vanilla into the mixture with a rubber spatula.
9. Have him evenly divide the batter into the two cake pans.
10. Help him put both pans in the oven.
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check the cake by sticking a knife into the center of the cake. When it comes out clean, the cake is done.
12. Remove the cakes using oven mitts.
13. Place the cakes on the counter to cool.
14. Have your child squeeze a few drops of green food coloring into your white frosting.
15. Let him use a spoon to mix the frosting. Encourage him to add more food coloring if he wants a darker shade of green for his zombie brain.
16. Help your child use a knife to cut each cake into a half-brain shape. This will essentially just be an elongated semi-circle.
17. Have him spread the top of each cake with the green frosting. Don’t worry too much about it being smooth -- it’s supposed to look like a brain after all.
18. Use the knife to draw the wriggly ridges of a brain on the frosting. If you have any strawberry puree left, experiment with dabbing some of the bright red sauce into the ridges.
19. Place each cake on the serving platter. Make sure you squish the half-brain shapes together so it looks like a complete brain.
20. You're all done. Time to dig in like real monsters!