I would like to share with you cake decorating techniques I used to make this cake from scratch. I don't know if these are the same recipes and techniques that Sue used for her original Western cake, but they worked for me just fime :-)

Sue Streck (775) 883-4900

Recipes

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

6 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

4 egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup sifted cake flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 egg whites

Method

In a saucepan melt chocolate and butter over medium heat and then cool. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and yellow, gradually beat in 1/3 cup sugar. Continue beating until very thick. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk; beat until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat egg whites until stiff; gradually beat remaining 1/3 cup sugar into egg whites. Fold egg white mixture into batter. Pour batter into two greased and floured 8-inch round layer cake pans. Bake chocolate cake at 375° for about 25 minutes, or until chocolate cake springs back when lightly touched with finger. Cool on racks then spread chocolate cake with frosting.

Chocolate Wedding Icing

Ingredients

2 sticks of margarine

2 Cup Crisco

2 lbs powdered sugar

Dash of milk

1 1/4 to 2 cups cocoa add more for darkness

Method

Cream the margarine and Crisco until creamy and blended. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and add very small amounts of milk to make it creamy and blend better. After all the powdered sugar is added, start adding the cocoa in small amount, blending thoroughly between additions. After all is added, blend on high speed for 3-5 minutes. This may lighten the chocolate and you may have to add more cocoa. Taste the icing and see if you want to add more cocoa or not.

This cake has been made as a chocolate cake with Chocolate Wedding Icing. The lower tier is a dummy cake and the rope or the twine has been wrapped around it and has been stuck in place with an adhesive. On top of this there are three cake lays all chocolate and all covered with Chocolate Wedding Icing. A rope design has been piped at the base of all three of the cakes. The rope border has been made with a plain tip size 9 or 10. A different tip and the same technique will give you a different shaped rope. The technique is to make a lazy S motion about a half of an inch tall.

Hold bag at 45 degree angle to surface with end of bag pointing over your right shoulder. Touch tip to surface and squeezing bag, move tip down, up and around to the right forming a slight "s" curve. Stop pressure, pull tip away. Tuck tip under bottom arch of first "s" and repeat procedure. Continue joining "s" curves to form rope.

Make four boots out of molding icing colored brown. First draw the sole of the boots as a template and look at the sizing on the cake. Fit so that four of them fit comfortably on the cake. Mold the sides and add chocolate chips and the darker color brown on the top of the boot. Put a piece of rope around the small cake board and top with another layer of cake.