Now,  I realize this isn’t an actual recipe … more of a technique. And I also realize that NO ONE would mistake my labor of love for a bakery cake; it has an unabashedly homespun look. But I gotta say … my son was tickled pink!

Since I was making this for a crowd, I baked one vanilla cake mix (according to package directions) and one chocolate cake mix (ditto) in a cookie sheet. If you want to make the cake half-and-half (so guests can choose chocolate or vanilla), just split the cakes in half and double them up. Otherwise you can stack on on top of the other (with a layer of frosting in between), or if you’re feeling REALLY creative, pile them on top of each other (with a layer of frosting in between) then cut the cake in 2″ sections, flipping every other one to create a checkerboard look.

Next,  smear frosting generously all over the cake. Here’s the frosting recipe I use:

2/3 C butter, softened
6 C powdered sugar
1 Tbls vanilla
3-4 Tbls milk (you can also use lemon juice, if you’re serving all vanilla cake)
8 drops yellow food color

Beat butter until fluffy, gradually add powdered sugar, keep beating as you add vanilla and just enough milk to make it “spreadable.” When it’s just the right consistency, add food color and blend until combined.

Now … the Pokemon/Picachu part. Because the colors needed to be really bright, I used Wilton’s Sparkle Gel instead of frosting. (One tube each yellow, red, and royal blue or black for outlining and the tips of the ears. Chris says black is best, but he says blue looks good, too.)

And here’s the result! (Yes, I know … I ran out of room and left off the tail when I made the cake! But Christopher liked it anyway. I told him it was “shy Picachu”):