Instructions: This is an effective way of making a beautiful presentation of chocolate flowers without all the architectural stress of mounting them on stems in a bowl. You can make the flowers weeks ahead, and the cake and frosting the day before. Then all you have to do the day you intend to serve it is frost the cake and arrange the flowers on it.

1. Make the flowers: Use 1 1/2; batches of chocolate plastic to make such flowers as roses, carnations, petunias, and some of the simple 4- and 5-petal flowers. Make about 30 flowers.

2. Use the remainder of the chocolate plastic to make 40 or 50 leaves in varying sizes ranging from 1 to 2 inches long.

3. Prepare, fill, and frost the cake and place it on the platter from which it will be served.

4. Begin arranging the flowers. Place the first so they are standing straight up on the very top of the cake. Then arrange more flowers on the sides, facing outward. Space them well apart so there will be room for the leaves. After you have placed all the flowers, place the leaves between them at angles to the top and sides of the cake so they fill in all spaces and appear to be growing naturally.

5. Chill the cake to harden the chocolate plastic, then keep the cake in a cool, dark place until you are ready to serve it.

Serving

This is great with a rich chocolate sauce or some crushed, sweetened berries.

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