PEEPS CHOCOLATE SUNFLOWER CAKE for Easter

So Easter is next Sunday, and I hope you will take care and stay Sheltered-in-Place. You can attend services via Zoom or other Streaming ways, and you can join your family for brunch or dinner, again with one of the 'party' services or Zoom. And, for your 'inmates' at home, you can make the following cake to celebrate. Hopefully you'll have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Peeps are an important part of the Easter tradition for so many people. PEEPS appeared on the market this Spring before the factory closed soon after Shelter-in-Place went into effect. Clearly, PEEPS were not considered a necessary food. My husband picked some up early for me, and I still had some in the pantry from last year. That begs the question of Peeps shelf life. According to the producers, it's two years. You can order PEEPS from the company in time for Easter, as well as order or find them in several stores such as Walmart, Target, and local markets.

I love to use Peeps in desserts. I usually check out the Peeps website for fun Peeps Recipes. Here's an extremely easy Chocolate Sunflower Cake recipe. Perfect for Easter or Spring celebrations.

The recipe below uses shortcuts (boxed mixes and ready-made icing), but you can use any favorite from scratch recipes.

PEEPS CHOCOLATE SUNFLOWER CAKE

Ingredients
3 packages (5 ct. each) Peeps Yellow Marshmallow Chicks
1 standard box cake mix – see package for additional ingredients
2 containers of chocolate frosting
1 bag chocolate chips
1 tube green decorating icing with piping tips (optional)

Directions
Prepare cake mix according to package directions for making two 8″ round cakes.
Cut thin slice off the top of each cake to make them level.
Place one round cake on a plate or cake stand and top with chocolate frosting. Place  second round cake on top of frosting. Frost entire cake with chocolate frosting.
Place Peeps Yellow Marshmallow Chicks on top of cake around the diameter with their tails facing out. Place chocolate chips on top of cake in a circular pattern.
If desired, use a leaf-shaped tip to pipe green decorating icing at base of cake.