Easy cake is doggone adorable!

Want to make something extra-special for a dog-lover? You don’t even need to turn on your oven to craft this adorable puppy cake from storebought poundcake and snack cakes!

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen poundcake, thawed

5 Twinkies 2 plain donuts

2 cans (16 oz. each) vanilla frosting

Red and black liquid

food coloring

1 large black gumdrop

2" piece red fruit roll, such as Fruit by the Foot

1 jumbo marshmallow

1 Tbs. pink decorating sugar

3- 5 thin pretzels sticks

2 Junior Mints candies

2 Tbs. Cocoa Puffs cereal

1 cup green jimmies, optional

Dog bone shaped cookies, such as Keebler Scooby-doo! Graham Cracker Sticks

● Remove poundcake from package, reserving cardboard lid. Place poundcake on surface and for head, cut 3"-long piece from one end; trim corners to round. For body, starting 1 1/2" in on top from cut end of large cake piece, diagonally cut down to cut off a wedge; discard wedge. Cut pieces from cardboard lid to fit under poundcake head and body.

● Cut 1" piece from one end of each of 2 Twinkies; reserve 1 (1") piece for tail. Crosswise cut 1 donut in half.

● Line rimmed baking sheet with wax paper; top with rack. Place poundcake pieces (on cardboard), donut halves cut side down, 3 whole Twinkies, 2 trimmed Twinkies and reserved tail on rack.

● Transfer 3/4 cup frosting to plastic sandwich bag. Transfer 1/2 cup of remaining frosting to microwave-safe bowl, tint bright red with food coloring. Tint remaining frosting gray with black food coloring. Transfer 1/2 cup gray frosting to plastic sandwich bag.

● Transfer remaining gray frosting to microwave-safe measuring cup; microwave on High in 5-second intervals, stirring, until texture of slightly whipped cream. Pour over cake, Twinkies and donut pieces to cover completely, as shown, re-heating excess frosting from baking sheet as necessary.

● For dog bowl, place remaining donut on clean rack set over baking sheet. Microwave red frosting on High in 5-second intervals, stirring, until texture of slightly whipped cream. Pour over donut to coat completely; transfer to sheet of wax paper. Refrigerate all cake pieces 30 minutes.

● For nose, vertically cut gumdrop in half and reserve 1 half; discard remaining. For tongue, cut fruit roll into 1 1/2"-long teardrop shape; pinch narrow end. For ears, diagonally snip marshmallow in half; dip sticky cut sides into pink sugar. Insert 1 pretzel stick into bottom of 1 piece, as shown, and 1 pretzel into side of remaining piece.

● Assembly: Arrange 1 whole Twinkie, crosswise, near back edge of serving platter. Place rounded end of cake body (on cardboard) propped up on Twinkie with angled front on platter. For back legs, place whole Twinkies on sides of back of body; top with donut halves cut side down, as shown. For front legs, place 2 trimmed Twinkies at front of body, as shown. Place cake head, at an angle, at front of body, resting on legs. Insert 1 pretzel into tail; and press into back end of cake. Insert marshmallow ears on top of head. (Use additional pretzel stick, if necessary, for support.)

● Snip tiny hole in one corner of bag of white frosting. Pipe name on bowl as desired and pipe pupils on Junior Mint eyes. Enlarge hole in bag of white frosting. For muzzle, pipe white frosting over bottom third of head. Press cut side of nose, rounded end down, against frosting near top of muzzle; insert tongue. Attach Junior Mints eyes; pipe on white frosting for brows. Pipe white frosting under nose to overlap tongue, on ends of Twinkies and on tail. ● Snip tiny hole in one corner of bag with gray frosting; pipe gray frosting over ears and on legs. Arrange dog bowl on platter; fill with cereal. If desired for grass, sprinkle jimmies over platter. Scatter a few cookies around platter. Makes 12 servings.