Cupcake Bouquet

One word I would never use to describe myself with is "procrastinator."  I usually finish things well before they are due.  Yes, I always did my weekend homework on Friday afternoon.  I hate things looming over me, and I can be a bit compulsive/obsessive about getting things "done."  But today, just after 2 pm, I realized, I had failed my children miserably.  They wanted to give their neighborhood buddies cupcakes for Valentine's Day, and I had waited (read: procrastinator) and now I had T-90 minutes to go to the store, buy the goods, make the treats, and get my son off the bus.  EPIC motherhood fail.

In a moment of panicked clarity, I recalled  various versions of the cupcake bouquet on CraftGawker.  I quickly forgave myself for today's maternal transgression and made a beeline for the local Dollar and Grocery stores.

I picked up 30 cupcakes; 24 minis for the buddies and 6 regulars to provide me the sugar rush I'd need to whip these bouquets up at maniacal speed. I also grabbed 4 Dollar store red tin vases, 4 foam floral arranging rounds and some obscenely long skewers.  It was just under $16 for everything I'd need to make 4 bouquets.  Not exactly thrifty, but I was in a real pinch.  Here's the how to.

Fit the foam right into the vase and press in to fit snugly.  

Cut the skewers in half so the cupcakes sit just about the top of the vase.  Then just start skewering the cupcakes. 7 fit perfectly snug in this vase which had a 3 or 3.5 inch diameter.  I think that's the diameter.  I only do nurse math.

Pretty!  But wait!  I found myself with a few minutes to spare.  What these needed was a Valentine card of sorts.

Using my printer and Staples Sticker printer paper I printed out this cute sticker which I punched out with a 2 inch round punch.  Isn't it adorable?  I thought it up all on my own.  Sort of.  FINE,  I thought of going to the Avery website and getting a template.  This is nearly the same as doing it myself.  Almost.

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But I added the kids names and stuck the labels right to the vases.  Now that's better.  Whew . . . done.  

Now I'll just sit back relax and . . . I think I hear the bus!!  Enjoy!!

I {heart you} Valentine Cake

I am not much of a Valentine's Day proponent.  Call me needy, but if my honey and I only exchanged heartfelt "I love you's" once a year I'd already be on to my second husband.  I am, however, a proponent of making all holidays, even the fake ones, special for my kids.  And with that mission in mind, the I {heart you} Valentine cake was born.  

The cast includes Funfetti or Confetti cake mix. You could use your own cake recipe, but this cake tastes great. Let's face it. My three-year-old does not care if I cream the butter for half an hour or I give the box mix a quick stir. I follow the package directions to make the batter, which call for water, egg whites, and veg oil.  You'll also need a 9x13 pan, a 10x5 loaf pan, wax paper and some food coloring gel.  Preheat your oven to 350F.  Go on.  I'll wait for you.

I said you'd need food coloring gel.  I like the gel, but any food coloring will work okay. This here is Wilton's "No Taste" Red food coloring gel. It's the only "no taste" I have ever seen. I must confess that I don't know what red tastes like so I am not entirely sure this was necessary, but anyway, this is what I used.

I sifted the cake mix into the wet ingredients. What do you mean, "WHY?" Because that's what I was taught to do with dry ingredients in 6th grade Home Economics.

And I had to get the "fetti" out of the cake. I didn't want the confetti look. You are wondering why I didn't just buy white cake, aren't you? I once was told white cake tastes the same as Funfetti, but this is not the case. I don't think. It could be a mental thing. Don't judge.

Add some, or a lot, of red food coloring gel.

Ahh, the color of hot, passionate, er, cake. What did you think I was going to say?

Butter and flour a 9x13 pan and place a piece of wax paper on the bottom. You'll be glad you took the time to do this. Trust me.

Bake according to package directions.

In the mean time, prepare a second bowl of batter. Follow the package directions, add food coloring. Is this sounding redundant yet?

This cake mix called for 4 egg whites. Just the whites. The idea of tossing 4 yolks gave me heart palpitations, so I used my trusty egg whites in a carton. I didn't want to have to be cardioverted over yolks. 

Turn out the sheet cake onto a cutting board.

Select a cookie cutter to cut out the cake. For this I obviously used a heart, but you could use almost any shape. Just make sure whatever you choose fits inside the loaf pan you plan to use. My loaf pan is 10x5 and my heart cutter is about 4 inches

Butter and flour loaf pan. Line with wax paper. Where have I heard this before?

Now cut out your shapes using as much of the cake as you can. You don't want to waste anything.

I didn't waste this. I ate it.

Stack up all of the shapes into a log. Or a loaf. Whatever you want to call it.

Pour a little of the new batter into the bottom of the pan as a base. Now place the log-loaf into the center. I put mine in upside down because the hearts don't stand well on the pointy end. You could also lay on their sides. Put them in however they seem most stable. Try it out before you put the batter in. It will be easier to decide which end is up.

Now cover it with the remainder of the batter. Some of the shapes may stick out but that's okay. As the cake rises it will cover it up. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350F. 

I made a strawberry glaze to pour over the cake. It's easy. 2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled. 1 cup powdered sugar. 2 tablespoons milk (or more to thin if needed). 2 tablespoons of strawberry preserves, melted. 

I added a teaspoon of vanilla, because I felt like.

And I added some pink food coloring because it just wasn't as Valentine's Day, heart and flowers, passion and love, pink as I wanted it to be

Now that's better.

Now pour the glaze over the cake (on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet, if you hate messes like me). Allow the glaze to set before you slice the cake.

Stand back and observe this thing of sugary, bright pink beauty!

Using a serrated knife, slice this glorious, pink concoction!  Reveal the surprise that lies within!  Pat yourself on the back for you are a baking Cupid!

Enjoy your day of hearts and flowers, love and all things (sweet) and pink!