2 sticks of margarine ( not spread) softened.
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp.vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
Whites from 5 eggs, at room temp.
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)sifted before meaasuring
or 2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup 1% lowfat milk at room temp.

Milk and Honey Frosting
1 1/2 sticks unsalted margarine,softened
1/4 cup each honey and 1% milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.2 teaspoon almond extract
6 cups ( a little more than 1 1/2 lb.} confectioners sugar

Decorations: green, red, and yellow paste (icing) food colors

1- Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Lightly grease two 8 X 2 round cake pans.
Line bottoms with waxed paper;greas paper.

2- Cake: Beat butter, baking powder,salt, and extracts in a large bowl
with mixer on high speed until smooth.
Beat in sugar until pale and creamy.
Gradually add egg whites and beat, scraping and beaters once or twice,
until mixture is fluffy.

3- Reduce mixture speed to low
Alternately add flour, and milk in 3 additions each
beating after each.
Divide between prepared pans; smooth tops.

4- Bake 30 to 35 minutes until very pale golden and
a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean.

5- Cool in pans on a wire rack until cake pulls away from sides of pan
5 to 10 minutes cooling time
Invert cakes on rack.
Remove waxed paper and let layers cool completely.

6- Frosting: Beat butter, honey, milk and extracts
with mixer on medium speed until well blended.
Reduce speed to low, gradually add sugar and beat til fluffy.

7- Invert 1 cake layer on server plate.
Spread top with 1/2 cup of frosting.
Center second layer over first layer.
Spread tops and sides with 1/1/2 cups frosting.

8- Decorate: Using food colors, color 3/4 cup frosting mix green, 1 cup of red,
and 2 tablespoons yellow

9- Drop 3 tbsp green frosting near center of cake.
With back of a large serving spoon, spread on cake to make 1 leaf.
repeat twice to make 2 more leaves.
Spoon remaing green frosting into 1 corn of zip-lock plastic bag
Snip off tip of corner and use some of the green frosting to pipe veins down center of leaves
Reserve rest in bag.

10- Drop 5 mounds of red frosting near center of cake,
make 5 red leaves.
Stir additional red color into remaining red frosting to deepen color
Spoon into another plastic zip-lock bag and pipe veins
down center of red leaves.

11- Use reserved green frosting in bag to pipe dots in a 2 inch circle
in center of poinssetia.
Spoon yellow frosting into another bag; pipe yellow dots on top of green.

Serves 12