Have you ever seen a cake pan at the store that’s so adorable on the shelf, but when you got it home, you had no idea what to do with it? Sometimes, you absolutely love the shaped cakes that the cake pan produces, but decorating them is kind of tricky since they have so many grooves. Nordic Ware actually has quite a few shaped cake pan sets, all of them intricately detailed, but they can be so much fun! Even if you do not have this specific cake pan, you can use other pans such as mini bundt cake pans for this project instead.

MINI GIFT CAKES FOR MOM

Recipe Adapted from William Sonoma Test Kitchens

MINI CAKE INGREDIENTS:

—1 cup unbleached flour
—2 tablespoons cornstarch
—1/2 teaspoon sea salt
—1 cup unsalted butter
—1 1/4 cups fine sugar
—1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
—1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
—4 eggs at room temperature
—1 tablespoon lemon zest

STEP BY STEP MINI CAKE INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the mini gift cakes pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the electric mixer bowl beat butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium until smooth and creamy, approximately 4 minutes.
4. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
5. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts. Beat until incorporated.
6. Add one third of the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
7. Add 2 of the eggs and beat until blended.
8. Add the next third of the flour mixture.
9. Add the last 2 eggs.
10. Beat in remaining flour until blended.
11. Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter among the 6 cake wells.
12. Bake cakes for 18-20 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
13. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Use a small knife to loosen the cakes from the side of the pan.
14. Invert the pan to remove the mini gift cakes.

LEMON BUTTERCREAM

LEMON BUTTERCREAM INGREDIENTS

—3 cups sifted powdered sugar
—1/2 cup unsalted butter
—3 tablespoons organic shortening
—1/4 teaspoon salt
—1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
—1 tablespoon half and half

STEP BY STEP LEMON BUTTERCREAM INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening, and salt for about 3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and half and half.

2. Once the mixture comes together, scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and the lemon extract. Beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl again. Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.

3. Divide the frosting evenly among three prep bowls. Leave one bowl white. Color one bowl pink. Color the last bowl yellow. Fill three piping bags with the yellow, pink, and white frosting. For the piping decorations, I used a Round Tip (No. 3),  a small Star Tip (Wilton 16), and a small ruffle tip (Wilton 101).

FROSTING TECHNIQUES:

STARS OR ROSETTES: To make small stars, place the piping bag at a 90 degree angle to the part of the cake you would like to put your design. Press and release. To make a rosette, squeeze out the icing to form a star. While keeping pressure on the bag, raise the tip slightly as you drop a line of icing on top of the star in a tight, complete circle.

RUFFLES: Hold your icing bag at a 45 degree angle with the wide end of the tip lightly touching the cake and the narrow end facing away from the cake. As you keep the wide end against the cake, move your wrist up to pull up the icing. Next, move your wrist in an up and down motion to make the ruffle pattern.

To make the frosting look flat, use the round tip, and smooth it against the area of the cake that you would like flattened. I did this to make the ribbon area.

Do you have any special traditions for Mother’s Day? What is your most memorable Mother’s Day gift?

Making fondant letters is about as easy as it gets. For some, it’s like fondant work 101. But, what about making 3D letters with the same mini letter cutters? If you’ve ever tried this, then you know that cutting a thick letter out of fondant is a little bit trickier! The fondant gets stuck in your cutter, and by the time you get it out, it no longer resembles the original letter. Luckily, we’re here to show you it is possible!

Today we’re thrilled to share a couple of simple tricks to not only making 3D letters, but also how to add a few extra touches of flair and character. This tutorial is coming just in time for you to do some lovely lettering on a cake or cupcakes to celebrate your mom!

You’ll Need:

• Mini M cutter
• Small circle cutter
• A round piping tip that is about half the size of your circle cutter
• Fondant
• Petal dust
• Small stiff paintbrush
• Paring knife
• X-Acto knife (with a clean blade used only for fondant)

Directions:

1. Roll out your fondant to about 1/3″ thick, and make an indent into the fondant using your M cutter.

2. Cut out the top and sides with your paring knife, and use the X-Acto knife for trimming out the smaller spaces.

3. Turn out the bottom of your letter to give it a less basic shape.

4. To make the O, use the same method as above. Use a circle cutter that is as tall as your M cutter. Use a smaller round piping tip to cut out the center. Once cut, pinch the O to turn it into an oval.

5. Dip just the very tip of your small paintbrush into the petal dust and outline your letters. Brush lightly over the whole letter once it’s outlined to soften the color.

6. Let dry at least two hours or overnight. Letters can be stored for up to one year if kept at room temperature in a dry space such as a pantry or cupboard. Make a whole alphabet of letters to keep on hand!

What is your mom’s favorite dessert?

For all of you glamorous moms out there, this one is for you!  You are all superstars and deserve something with a little extra sparkle this Mother’s Day.  Today, we are sharing this shimmery, chic Mother’s Day Cake Topper.  Place the topper on any simple cake to jazz it up for your mother or for any of your mommy friends.  Nothing says you care more than pink, sparkly edible glitter!

You’ll Need:

• Edible glitter, in your color of choice
• Tinted fondant or gum paste
• Small rolling pin
• Cornstarch for dusting
• Sharp craft or paring knife
• Template
• Clean paintbrush
• Water, gum glue, or corn syrup

Directions:

1. Make a template: Pick your favorite font and print out the letters you want to create, or draw your own.  Cut the template out of card stock or heavy paper.

2. Dust your work surface lightly with cornstarch and roll out your fondant or gum paste to 1/4″- 1/8″ thick.

3. Place your template on top of the rolled fondant.  Using a sharp craft or paring knife, cut out your letters.  Try to slice straight down, so the fondant does not pull and distort.

4. Moisten your clean paintbrush with water, gum glue, or corn syrup and paint the surface of your letters.  Gum glue is recommended, but the water or syrup may work as substitutes.  Do not use too much liquid, or the fondant may become messy.  Only paint one letter at a time, so they do not dry out too quickly.

5.  Carefully shake or sprinkle moistened letters with edible glitter.  Set aside to dry.

Spring flowers are beginning to bloom, and it’s time to break out all the pretty pastel colors.  Have you ever wanted to make spring flower cupcakes, but piping buttercream flowers seemed a little bit too intimidating? Luckily, we have a quick, easy, and fun solution for you.  No need to worry about finding a bunch of different decorating tips. No need to color frosting in all sorts of different colors. All you need to do is pick out some of your favorite, fresh spring flowers!

Spring Flower Cupcakes

You’ll Need:

• Spring flowers of your choice. Make sure the stems can fit through your straws.
• Fun straws
• 12 of your favorite cupcakes
• 1 batch of Buttercream
• Avocado Food Coloring by Americolor
• 1 medium sized pastry bag
• Large plain round tip (Bakery Crafts 8PT shown here)

**The buttercream recipe link above makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes.

Assembly:

1. Bake your cupcakes and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
2. While the cupcakes are cooling, make and color your buttercream.
3. Cover your buttercream and set it aside.
4. Prep your flowers. Wash the stems and remove any leaves.
5. Cut your straws to the appropriate height, depending on how high you want the flowers above the cupcakes.
6. Slide the flower stem into the straw. If the stem comes out of the bottom of the straw, make sure to cut the flower shorter.
7. Cut the tip off of the disposable pastry bag, and slide your decorating tip into the bag.
8. Fill your bag with the avocado tinted buttercream. Pipe in a circular motion at a 90 degree angle above the cupcakes.
9. If you need help with how to pipe a pretty cupcake, head over to this great tutorial: Making a Pretty Cupcake
10. Once the cupcake is frosted, insert each straw with a flower into the cupcakes.

See, I told you it was easy! There are so many fun things you can do with these cupcakes. This is the perfect idea for teacher luncheons, an easy way to dress up a table for tea, or to give as Mother’s Day gifts.

My favorite spring flowers are Gerber Daisies. What are you favorite flowers?

If you’re not quite in gear for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration quite yet, don’t worry. Here at BFFF, we’ve got you covered. Today, we’re showing you an easy, fun, and unique way to decorate cupcakes for this special green themed day.

We’re excited to show you how to make these polka dot patterned fondant shamrocks with edible bling, because everything is better when it sparkles, especially on St. Patrick’s Day. This is a fast and easy cupcake decoration for school celebrations, home parties, work, or just for some family fun!

You’ll Need:

• Shamrock shaped cookie cutter
• Small circle shaped cookie cutter or decorating tip
• White fondant
• Green fondant
• Edible glitter

Directions:

1) Roll out white fondant and cut out your preferred size of polka dots. Go as big or as small as you want, but keep in mind that the smaller your dots are, the more time-consuming your pattern will be, and taking too long can result in dried fondant.

2) Roll out green fondant and spray it heavily (without drowning your fondant) with water or vodka (vodka will dry faster than water). Line up your polka dots in your desired pattern. You can make a patterned space for up to 6-8 toppers at a time, but if you plan on making more than that, roll out new green fondant to use for another batch. Using your cookie cutter, cut shamrock shapes out of the fondant.

3) Let the shamrocks dry for a minimum of 4-6 hours until completely dry. When you touch the green fondant, it shouldn’t stick.

4) Once the green fondant is completely dry, carefully paint each polka dot (doing only one topper at a time) with water or vodka. Do not let the water touch the green fondant.

5) Dip your finger in edible glitter, and dab glitter on to each wet polka dot. Let the glitter dry just until they are not sticky to the touch (about an hour). Once dry, your shamrocks are set to use on cupcakes, cookies, or a festive cake. Dress up Oreos, brownies, or cake pops with smaller shamrocks for even more fun.

You can use this pattern and technique to create toppers for any occasion. Use different color and shape combinations for any holiday.

The sky’s the limit, so have fun with it!

What is your favorite part about St. Patrick’s Day?

If you’ve ever racked your brain over what to serve as a birthday cake alternative, we have the answer for you!

After enduring months of our long and cold Canadian winters, one of the things I look forward to in the spring is celebrating my son’s birthday. We typically invite our extended family over for a birthday brunch, which allows everyone to get together early in the day, leaving the afternoon and evening free for extracurricular activities for the kids and a date night for mom and dad. Since we do the party in the morning, you might think it would be a challenge to have a birthday cake while serving breakfast.

I would say you’re absolutely right, if it wasn’t for this adorable and easy-to-assemble donut cake. Made with purchased donuts, homemade glaze, and sprinkles, this tiered confection is ideal for morning celebrations, and it will certainly impress your guests. Once you experience the ease of entertaining early in the day, this must-make donut cake just might become your family’s go-to birthday dessert.

Donut Birthday Cake

You’ll Need:

• 18-14 plain donuts
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, almond, lemon or maple extract
• Gel paste food colouring (any colour)
• Assorted sprinkles

Directions:

1. To determine how many donuts you will need, place the donuts on a cake stand or plate in a circle, fitting in as many pieces as you can (7-8 is pretty standard). Stack another layer of donuts on top, using a few less than the first. Repeat with remaining the donuts, creating a tiered effect, and finish with one donut on top.

2. Whisk together the powdered sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and extract until smooth. Tint with gel paste food coloring, if using, dividing the glaze into as many colors as you would like.

3. Remove the donuts from the tiers, and dip the top of each one in the glaze, shaking off the excess in the bowl. Place the donuts glazed-side-up on a cooling rack, and cover with sprinkles. Allow the icing to dry, about 30 minutes.

4. Carefully restack the donuts into the tiered formation, and insert a candle into the top donut. Decorate with purchased or handmade cake flags and serve.

This fun donut cake offers so much room for variety. Flavor and color the glaze however you would like, and pick out your favorite donuts. What flavor combinations would you try?

If any of you are like me, then you too are intimidated by the thought of making a fondant flower. While thinking of something fun to do for a Valentine’s tutorial for our readers, all I could think of were hearts and flowers. But how could I take either one to a new creative level after Valentine’s is already so saturated with both? I thought to myself, why not combine the two. The result was a fun, unique, and easy way to make fondant flowers that are quite literally “full of love!”

Adorn your sweets for your sweetheart with these blooms of romance, and they will not only be impressed by your fancy new fondant skills, but they will surely feel the love!

You’ll Need:

• Red fondant
• Heart shaped cookie cutter

STEP ONE:

Cut 18-25 small hearts out of red fondant. I used hearts that measured approximately 1″ wide. Wet the top of each heart with water and press them together in a line to make a strip.

STEP TWO:

Roll out a tiered shaped center and wet it with water. Wrap the hearts around center. Make sure the strip is wet so it will stick as you wind it around.

It’s that easy!

Play around with these basic steps and try your own take on them! Mix colored hearts for a multi-colored flower, or try doing larger heart cut-outs for an oversized flower for a cake.

If you could have one single flower given to you for Valentine’s Day, what would it be?

Hi everybody! Brooke from Sucre Shop here with a dessert packaging DIY idea that you can use year-round: a completely custom candy wrapper!

I love the little luxuries you get when you go on vacation. Things like staying at hotels that put chocolates in sparkly foil wrappers on your nightstand make me so thrilled. I had a sweet friend come to visit recently, and I created this project because I wanted to treat her to a fun little surprise in my guest room!

I used some cute rubber stamps and a solvent ink pad called StazOn, which is amazing because it dries on metals like aluminum foil. It can also be used on plastic and parchment paper, offering so many possibilities. I cut my tin foil into squares and stamped my images on the foil. Make sure you follow the ink manufacturer’s instructions on drying time, and be sure to test carefully. This ink easily stains clothes and tabletops, so be careful!

I wanted to make something cute for my friend, so I used a mustache stamp. I can see doing this same project for parties, hostess gifts and maybe even weddings by using a monogram stamp.

What you put inside the foil is up to you! I have chocolate squares in mine, but I love the idea of using this idea to wrap up some yummy caramels. Have fun, and get ready for some major compliments from your guests!

Hi everyone! This is Jennifer from Not Your Momma’s Cookie here to talk about decorated sugar cookies. Cookie decorating season always seems to be upon us whether it’s Halloween, Christmas, or Valentine’s Day. During all of those holidays, I bet you’re seeing a ton of gorgeous decorated sugar cookies online. And, you’re probably thinking, “Well, that’s nice, but I can’t do that – I don’t have time/the right equipment to do that.” Well, I’m here to tell you that, YES, you can do it! I’m going to give you an overview of the basics and the equipment needed to decorate cookies, as well as a link to some easy and beautiful tutorials for decorating. Sound good? Let’s get this party started!

The Basics

Decorated sugar cookies are just rolled and cut sugar cookies with icing applied to them in some way. That’s it. So you need…icing and cookies. Told you this was easy.

Sugar Cookies: You’ve probably made sugar cookies at one point or another. Is there anything better than cutting out a ton of fun shapes from freshly rolled dough? I don’t think so. You have a couple options here:

Homemade sugar cookie dough: you will need the ingredients to make this dough, almost always consisting of flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking soda and/or powder, and flavorings. Here are a couple of my favorite sugar cookie dough recipes:

• Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies (Bake at 350)
• Basic Sugar Cookies (The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle)
• Chocolate Cookie Recipe (LilaLoa)

Cookies from a Mix: For an easier alternative, feel free to use a cookie mix. Your results won’t be the same as with a homemade batch, but for practice and for fun it can be a great option!

Pre-Made Cookies: If you’re not concerned with special shaped cookies, try using sugar cookies from your grocery’s bakery! Chances are, they will only have round shaped cookies, but this is by far the easiest option.

Icing Options: There are a ton of sugar cookie icing options and recipes out there because everyone has their favorite one. Honestly, you could drown in all of these options, so here are the ones to think about as a newbie:

Royal Icing: By far the most popular icing choice. It dries to a hard finish so cookies can be stacked. This icing requires only one weird ingredient: meringue powder. You can buy meringue powder at many craft stores, online, and I’ve even seen it at Walmart. Wilton makes one of the cheapest meringue powders out there, so it is good for beginners.

• Antonia’s Royal Icing Recipe
• Royal Icing (Bake at 350)
• Royal Icing 101 (The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle)

Glaze Icing: A less popular choice because detail work can be difficult. No meringue powder required!

• Glaze Icing (Cookie Crazie)

Pre-Made Icing: I only include this as a last resort because it can be difficult to replicate the sugar cookie designs seen around the web with this kind of icing. But, if you’re only looking to decorate on a very basic level or just decorating with kiddos, this could be an option for you.

Basic Equipment

You will need to invest in a couple different pieces to decorate sugar cookies, but not as many as you think!

Pastry bags: I prefer disposable ones because they are clear and you can see the icing level/color in them. Even though they are disposable, I still wash and reuse them to save money! A pack of 24 will set you back a couple dollars.

Tips: Icing tips are super important – they determine the size and the shape of the icing flowing onto the cookie. Wilton tips will only cost you about a $1 each. To start, you should get a couple #2 tips, as you will probably use this tip the most often. You can grow your collection as you go!

Couplers: Couplers are the little plastic things that hold your icing tip firmly in place. I buy them for .69 cents from Karen’s Cookies. You can also find them at Walmart and craft stores such as Michael’s. You should have several to start!

Icing Colors: Cookie decorators will tell you that AmeriColor food coloring is best…and they’re right! But, I started with Wilton colors and still use some of them. They will probably cost you about $1 each for a regular size container, but buying the sets can be cheaper. AmeriColor will be closer to $1.50 to $2 for a small bottle. Keep in mind that these colors will last a long time!

Cookie Cutters: I bet you already have some of these! Price varies greatly, but you can get basic shapes for super cheap. Don’t worry about getting the most expensive ones – I have plastic ones that have held up great!

Rolling pin: If you don’t have one already, you will need one of these too! You can get one for $10-$15.

There are a lot of “nice to have” items when it comes to cookie decorating as well (sprinkles, luster dust, disco dust, etc.), but this is really all that you need to get started!

Icing Consistency

The basic icing consistencies are outline and flood.

Outline: This is stiff icing used to outline shapes. This is usually the consistency of icing right after it is mixed.

Flood: This is a runny icing used to fill in shapes. You achieve this icing by taking stiff, newly made icing and adding small amounts of water to it until it is runny. Only add a little at a time!

Tutorials: Here are some tutorials to help you out!

• Icing Consistency (The Bearfoot Baker)
• Outlining and Filling Cookies with Royal Icing (The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle)

Decorating Sugar Cookies

This is the scary part, huh? I’m breaking down the steps for you, but remember…they’re just cookies! Have fun with it.

1. Decide what cookie you would like to make (I’ve linked a couple of easy, fun cookies below)! Make sure you have the right cutter, colors, etc.

2. Make your sugar cookie dough. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to a baking sheet. Bake according to your recipe’s instructions. Let cookies cool completely before decorating.

3. Make your icing. You can use a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer if needed. Divide icing into bowls. Color with paste food coloring. For flood icing, put some of the colored icing into another bowl and add small amounts of water until runny.

4. Assemble your pastry bags (Here is a great picture tutorial). You will need a pastry bag for each color and each consistency!

5. Decorate! Let icing dry before handling.

Easy and Beautiful Cookies Beginners Can Make!

Now that you know the basics, here are some cookie tutorials with great instructions that even a newbie can make!

• Double-Decker Valentine’s Cookies (Bake at 350)
• Stacked Snowman Cookies (LilaLoa)
• Citrus Cookies (Sweetopia)
• Beautiful Marbled Ornament Cookies (Sweetopia)
• Winter Hats and Mittens Cookies (Bake at 350)

Happy Decorating!

Are you having guest over at the last minute and now you’re in a bind to serve a pretty dessert?  This past Sunday, my mom and I found ourselves in this exact predicament.  We had absolutely no time to make a dessert from scratch; however, we still wanted to serve something that had our own personal touch to it.   We  picked up a dozen plain donuts  from our local donut shop.  We  put our own touch of pretty-ness on our donuts as we covered each one in a colored powdered sugar glaze with sprinkled decorations.  The results were just lovely.  We enjoyed the pink decorated donuts more than the yellow ones, though they were both so much fun.  My mom and I agreed that the pink donuts would be ideal for a sweet little girl’s princess tea party.  We can’t wait to show you how easy our instructional is.

Besides decorating delicious donuts, my mom and I spent the weekend gearing up for Charlie’s first birthday party.  We are having too much fun with all the cute stores on Etsy.   This evening  Andy, Charlie and I went to an ice cream parlor in our neighborhood and indulged in  Blackberry Ice Cream and Lemon Chiffon Ice Cream.  We are having such a fun summer.  How is your summer treating you?

XOXO Melissa

Last Minute Decorated Donuts

-12 fresh plain donuts

- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar

- 1/2 Cup Water

- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

-Mix Powdered Sugar, Water and Vanilla Extract with a spoon until incorporated.  Ideally, your glaze frosting  mixture will be a medium consistency between thick and runny.

- Mix in dye colors of choice.  We prefer using gel based dyes.

- Dunk each donut in your colored glaze frosting and set on parchment paper.

-Decorate each donut with sprinkles or sugar pearls.