Full Bloom Summer Cake

Heat oven to 325°F (300°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom and sides of 2 (5-inch) round cake pans. 

Mix cake mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into cake pans filling 2/3 full. Reserve any leftover batter for another use. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans and place on cooling rack. Cool completely.

With an electic mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes then on high speed for 1 minute or until powedered sugar is fully incorporated. Tint frosting with food color, if desired. 

Place graham crackers in a resealable food storage bag. Crush the graham crackers with a rolling pin until they resemble soil.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on serving plate. Spread buttercream evenly over top of the cake layer. Top with raspberries, then additional buttercream. Place second cake layer on top. 

Frost top and sides of cake with a thin layer of buttercream to seal in the crumbs.

Freeze cake for 10 minutes to harden. Remove cake from freezer and cut a small circle, roughly 1/8-inch deep in the middle of the cake. This is where the inside of the pot will be.

Add a large round piping tip to a piping bag and fill bag with buttercream. Fill hole on top of cake with buttercream and smooth out. Then pipe buttercream in lines evenly wrapping around the cake.

Add crushed graham crackers to the middle of the cake to act as the soil. Cover the stems of your (fake) tulips in saran wrap. Insert flower stems into the graham cracker soil and push into cake.