Simple Cake Decorating » Cake Philosophy http://simplecakedecorating.com Tips, tricks and ideas to make special cakes with minimal time and fuss. Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:16:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Shamrock Cake http://simplecakedecorating.com/shamrock-cake/ http://simplecakedecorating.com/shamrock-cake/#comments Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:46:04 +0000 lindaf http://simplecakedecorating.com/?p=163 Shamrock Cake

A quick and easy Shamrock Cake made from cupcakes, this is a perfect St. Patrick’s Day treat. One cake is made from four cupcakes, so one box of cake mix can make six of these cakes. Alternatively, you could make one shamrock as a centerpiece and arrange individual cupcakes around it.
You will need the following ingredients and supplies to make this cake:

  • 1 Box of cake mix (and the ingredients needed to prepare it)
  • 3 Cans of white frosting
  • Green food coloring
  • Green sugar crystals
  • Wooden skewer or toothpick
  • Aluminum foil or a marble*
  • Baking cups*

*If you have a heart-shaped cupcake pan you won’t need these.

Cupcake panPrepare your cake batter according to instructions on the box.  If you don’t have a heart-shaped cupcake pan, while your oven is pre-heating tear 3 inch strips of aluminum foil and roll them into balls.If you have marbles, skip that step.  Fill your cupcakes halfway with the batter.  I like to use an ice cream scoop to measure and fill them.  Then place your aluminum foil ball or marble between the baking cup and pan.  You can get detailed instructions for this from Instructables – Make Heart Shaped Cupcakes Without a Special Pan but I’ll warn you here that the marbles will get very hot so be sure to let them cool before handling.

CupcakesWhile your cupcakes are cooling, dye your frosting green and then refrigerate it until ready to use.

When your cupcakes are completely cooled, take them out of the baking cups.  Frost the sides of the cupcake first, this way you can hold it between your thumb and forefinger and make less of a mess.  once the sides are frosted, arrange three them on your serving board or plate to form the leaves of the shamrock.  Cut one cupcake in half to use as the stem and use the remaining half to fill in the hole that will be left in the middle.  You will probably need to shape and cut away a lot of the 4th cupcake to make the stem look right and to fit it in the middle.

Shamrock CakeFrost the entire cake and use the skewer to define space between the leaves and score lines in the leaves.  Then sprinkle green sugar crystals over the entire cake.  I was very heavy handed when it came to the sugar, but you can use less.  Then touch up any spots you need using your toothpick.

That’s it, a simple, fast and fun St. Paddy’s dessert.

]]> http://simplecakedecorating.com/shamrock-cake/feed/ 13 The 5 Simple Cake Decorating Rules http://simplecakedecorating.com/the-5-simple-cake-decorating-rules/ http://simplecakedecorating.com/the-5-simple-cake-decorating-rules/#comments Tue, 17 Jul 2007 02:37:13 +0000 lindaf http://simplecakedecorating.com/?p=3
  • If you baked it, they’ll love it. Rather than ordering a cake out of a book from your local bakery, you took the time to create something unique and special for them. They will appreciate the effort
  • You don’t have to spend hours to make a beautiful cake. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
  • Everything you need to make a great cake, you can find at your grocery store. Now we’re obviously not talking about six tier wedding cakes here, this is about SIMPLE cakes. There’s no need for a trip to the cake supply store. Have you been to the baking aisle of the supermarket lately? There’s a wide variety of cake mixes, icings, decorations and even pans for you to choose.
  • Your decorations don’t have to be edible as long as the decorations you use are easily removable before you cut it. The point is to eat the cake, but you don’t have to eat the decorations. In fact, most “edible” cake decorations are not appetizing at all.
  • As long as it tastes wonderful, nobody will care what it looks like. You will have cakes that don’t turn out like you want them to, maybe it’s a little lopsided. Perhaps it looks a little sloppy. However, once it’s cut, what matters is if it’s yummy!
    • ]]>     http://simplecakedecorating.com/the-5-simple-cake-decorating-rules/feed/ 2