Teapot Cake with Tea-Cupcakes

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Use a paper towel to spread a little bit of shortening on the inside of the 2 ovenproof bowls. Put shortening on the inside of 10 of the cups in the muffin pan, too.

Put the cake mix in the large bowl. Measure out the water in the liquid measuring cup. Pour it into the bowl. Measure out the oil in the same cup. Pour it into the bowl, too. Crack 1 of the eggs on the edge of the bowl. Open the shell, letting the egg slide into the bowl. Do the same thing with the other 2 eggs. Use the electric mixer on low speed to beat everything in the bowl for 30 seconds. Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the inside edges of the bowl every once in a while with the rubber spatula.

Measure out 1 3/4 cups of batter. Pour it into 1 of the ovenproof bowls. Put the same amount of batter in the other bowl. Spoon the batter that's left equally into the 10 muffin cups. The cups should be a little more than halfway full.

Put the bowls of cake batter in the oven first. Then put the muffin pan in the oven. Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick you stick in the center of a cupcake comes out without any batter on it. Be careful when you stick the toothpick in so that you don't touch the hot oven. Carefully take ONLY the muffin pan out of the oven with the pot holders. Leave the bowls of cake batter in the oven and shut the oven door. Put the muffin pan on a wire rack. Let it cool for 10 minutes.

Continue baking the bowl cakes for another 12 to 27 minutes or until a toothpick you stick into the center of each of the bowl cake comes out without any batter on it. Carefully take the bowls out of the oven with the pot holders. Put each of them on a wire rack. Let them cool for 10 minutes.

While the bowl cakes are baking, take the cupcakes out of the muffin pan. Put them on the wire rack. Let them cool for 20 minutes or until they aren't warm when you touch them.

When the cakes in the bowls have cooled for 10 minutes, take them out of the bowls. Put them on wire racks. Let these cakes cool for 20 minutes or until they aren't warm when you touch them.

Put each cupcake on a saucer. Measure out the frosting. Use the table knife to spread some of the frosting on the side and top of each cupcake. Break 5 butter cookies in half. Press half a butter cookie into the side of each cupcake for a handle. Put some jelly beans in a flower shape on the side of each cupcake.

Use the serrated knife to cut off the tops of the bowl cakes to make that side flat. (See the How-To Photo.) Put 1 of the trimmed-off cake tops aside to use later as the teapot lid. Use the table knife to spread a little of the frosting that's left on the flat side of each bowl cake. Stick the 2 frosted sides of the bowl cakes together so it looks like a round teapot. Put the "teapot" on the plate.

Use the serrated knife to cut 1 inch off the pointy end of the ice cream cone on the cutting board. Throw away the point or eat it. Press the wide end of the cone that's left into the side of the "teapot" so it looks like a spout. Use the table knife to spread some of the frosting that's left all over the "teapot" and "spout." Put the cake top that you set aside earlier on top of the frosted teapot for the lid. Spread the rest of the frosting on the "lid."

Place 1 jelly bean on top of the "lid" for the handle. Press 2 cookies into 1 side of the "teapot" for a handle. Make a few jelly-bean flowers on the sides of "teapot" to match the "teacups." Use the sharp knife to cut some leaf and stem shapes from the fruit snack roll on the cutting board. Put them next to the flowers on the "teacups" and "teapot."