Halloween Cake

Boo! I made a Halloween cake! Chocolate cake, raspberry filling, vanilla whipped cream frosting and sweet buttercream borders. The black piping is black sparkle gel, which is like piping gel. For the spider webs, just make circles small to large, then drag a toothpick from the center out.

Easter Cupcakes

A coworker ordered 72 cupcakes to divide between her 4 school aged children's Easter class parties at school. I found inspiration for designs online and by looking at all the Easter merchandise we have currently around the store. We chose 5 designs: a "grass" (tip 233) and "dirt" (crushed Oreos) covered cupcake with jelly bean "eggs", bunny face, chick hatching, dyed eggs, and flowers. I sketched 3 varieties of flowers and 2 varieties of dyed eggs. Due to the time that it took to make them, I ended up only using bunny faces, grass/eggs and the flowers.

Vanilla Cake
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and yolks one at a time. Add vanilla. Alternatively beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture until just combined. Use ice cream scoop to divide batter into cupcake tins with liners. Baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take this recipe by 3 for 72 cupcakes total.

Buttercream Frosting
12 cups powdered sugar
8 sticks (4 cups) room temperature butter
6 tsp clear vanilla extract
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
food coloring as needed

Mix together butter and sugar in stand mixer for 3 minutes on medium. Add vanilla and cream and beat for another minute. Divide and color. 

3 boxes of 24 each makes 72 Easter cupcakes. 

Happy Halloween

I saw on Pinterest a pumpkin shaped cake made using bundt pans. I used one box of Betty Crocker Devil's Food and one box of French Vanilla. Make sure to spray and flour the pan well so it doesn't stick. I made the frosting from scratch in two batches, one dyed green and one dyed orange. The stem is a ice cream cone sprayed with Wilton's Color Mist Spray. The jack o'lantern face is Wilton Sugar Sheet in black.

Buttercream Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) room temperature butter
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
food coloring as needed.

I made one batch of green and then one batch of orange. I used the green to frost inside the round of the bundt, and to make the vines and the leaves.