A Bushel of Fun

Oh how I love whimsical cakes and this one couldn't have been more fun to make!

 

As I walk you through this steps I used to make this fun little project, I feel the need to take a little walk down my own memory lane. 

My first cake memories are of the smiley face cakes my mother made for my twin brother and I on our third birthday and my first monogram cake in pink.  HA!  Some things never change.  Let's face it, I'm smitten with all things pink, monogrammed and made with sugar!

I met my husband on his birthday.  We were both in sales for the same company.  We met at a trade show in a small town in Alabama.  The day event ended and as fate would have it, I missed the one and only flight home.  The sales team decided we should mosey on down to the local watering hole.  As the evening progressed, we learned of my husbands birthday.  Well, we were young and I was quickly becoming my mother, so my first instinct was to rush to the store in search of a cake and candles. Sadly, it was late in the small town where we attended that trade show and the sidewalks had already been rolled up and put away.  However, this wasn't going to stop a girl in search of a proper celebration! I found an open 24 hour gas station, bought a hostess cupcake and votive candle, tipped the door attendant to let me light the candle in the club and well, the rest is history. 

Now that you have the background, I have to tell you the present:  My husband has been wanting a bushel of crabs all summer.  Alas being a native of Texas, I must say I've never really grasped the Merry-land concept of going to all the trouble to break open crabs for such a tiny amount of meat.

With that guiltily said, I thought I'd whip up a batch for his birthday.

If you've never used chocolate molds before, I highly recommend them!  They are so easy to use.  I personally prefer a good quality, real chocolate mixed with paraffin for taste, but for the sake of time I often find myself using Wilton's Candy Melts.  They are incredibly easy to melt, refrigerate quickly, pop out perfectly and come in all shapes and sizes!

 

Speaking of cake...  For this design, I baked a standard chocolate cake.  I actually made two batches because I knew for the bushel, I would need a tall stack. I baked the cake in four, 9 inch round cake pans, then crumb coated the cakes with a basic butter cream frosting.

For the base, I used a piece of cardboard cut into a circle, covered it with a washable place mat for easy clean up,, not to mention it added that cute, "crabs on a summer picnic" vibe... 


This was my first time creating a "wood design" on a cake!  I wish I had taken photos as I went along to show you the process, but frankly I thought it would be a bust... I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.

For the bushel creation, I rolled out a batch of  Wilton Fondant. I usually make my own, but again for sake of time, I chose to use this store bought version!  I was thrilled at how easy it was to use.  I measured the height and width of the cake, then cut strips for the design.  Next, I used Wilton Fondant/Gum paste tools to rough up a wood look.  I used the roller to make a rough, woody edge, then gave the wood some cuts and holes to make it look a bit more authentic.  Finally, I painted the pieces with a small amount of Wilton's Brown Gel Food Coloring mixed with are you ready for this?  A quarter cup of Vodka.  I know this sounds odd, but the alcohol evaporates as it dries..  honestly! To finish it off, I adhered the wood strips with another light coat of frosting.

Here it is!  The birthday boy should be surprised, I know I am! Who knew a cake could be this fun to make?

Do you have a favorite cake memory?  Friend me on Facebook. I'd love to see it or hear about it.

Thank you for strolling down memory lane with me..

It truly was a bushel of fun!

Cupcake Bouquet

Today is My Mother-in-law's birthday and I felt like it was the perfect time to try to create this fun little bouquet...

I guess it's Murphy's Law that my handy dandy professional dessert decorator broke in the process and I did not have icing bags. *Note to self, ALWAYS have icing bags in the house in the future.  If I had made time to get the icing bags and use the correct decorating tips, I'm sure this bouquet could have been a million times more beautiful.  On the upside, I was able to use a flower tip and less fancy frosting decorator to create this bouquet.  It took just a few minutes and I think I've found a new favorite and incredibly easy way to say celebrate many occasions in the future! 

I love Pinterest!  With that said, I read a few posts about making certain my cake was firm enough to hold securely to the toothpicks.  After browsing about a million recipes, I found this one bowl, super simple, gem of a recipe:

2 1/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup low fat milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients first, add in wet one at a time, blend until creamy, drop into cupcake liners and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until golden and toothpick comes out clean!  How simple is that?

I personally think yellow cake is completely boring, but this one may truly be my new love!  It is incredibly delicious!

 

I glitter painted this little pot to give it some extra pizazz, then tucked the foam ball in nice and secure.


This incredibly simple Buttercream frosting is easy to make and dries beautifully:

1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons milk

Cream the butter in your stand mixer, add about 1/2 the powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk.  As soon as you have all the ingredients mixed in, scrape down sides and bottom then add final amounts of sugar and milk as well as any food coloring.  It's ready to go!

I placed the toothpicks in two's (pointing upward to keep the cupcakes from falling off and secure) throughout the Styrofoam ball.

 

Wanting to hide the Styrofoam, I cut squares of tissue and secured them to the toothpicks before adding back the decorated cakes.

Some of the websites I found encouraged decorating the cakes while they were secured to the toothpicks, others encouraged decorating before.  I tried the first without success and decided it would be easier to decorate, then add the cupcakes.  The downside of this was that I did it before my frosting was hardened and I made a few smudges.

I couldn't believe how easy this cutie came together!  After adding the decorated cakes, I tucked in a few more tissue rectangles into the holes and popped the entire thing in the refrigerator to cool.  This little project took a little over an hour to create. I think it's quite possibly cuter than any cake I could have made in that time!

Just for the record, the cakes aren't the only thing feeling cool...

Have a beautiful day, friends!