How to Make a Surfboard Cake

Turn the oven on so it can be warming to the temperature required as listed on the cake mix box. Following directions, grease and flour both cake pans (if required), add eggs, water and oil as directed by the cake mix directions, and fill both pans carefully. (You'll have some cake batter left over, so either make cupcakes from it or pour it into another prepared cake pan and bake it after the two surfboard cakes are done.)

Set both the 9-inch round cake and the 9-by-13 inch rectangular cake to cool, following directions on the box. Once they're both totally cool, carefully remove them from the pans. Using a knife, cut the 9-inch round cake in half, from 12 to 6 o' clock.

Put the rectangular cake on the clear plastic or cellophane side of the piece of cardboard. (You're using the blue cardboard to look like the ocean.) Pick up half of the 9-inch round cake and carefully fit its straight side to the straight end of the 9-by-13 inch rectangular cake.

Frost both cakes like they were one long cake using the spatula or the rounded-tip knife, and let your imagination decide whether you put stripes or swirls or big flowers on the "surfboard." Use 2 or 3 colors of frosting to really make the color scheme special!

Tint the white frosting blue to match the blue of the 'ocean' that's underneath the cake. Using the teaspoon, swirl the frosting onto the plastic in a wave pattern. Make tiny 'hills' and 'valleys,' and put a piece of shredded white coconut at the top of each 'hill' to look like the tip of a wave. Put the entire cake into the refrigerator so the frosting firms up before the party. Get ready for all the guests to "ooh" and "aah" as they admire your cake decorating abilities!