Butterfly Cut Up Cake Food

BUTTERFLY CUPCAKES (TRADITIONAL BRITISH BUTTERFLY CAKES)

Steps:

• In a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. It will begin to pale in color, too.
• Add about one third of the beaten eggs, and mix well at medium speed.
• Then add about a third of the sifted flour. Repeat this step. Add the rest of the eggs and mix well, then turn the mixer to low and add the final flour. Just mix until well combined.
• Fill the cupcake liners half full with the batter and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when placed in the center of a cupcake.
• Remove cupcakes from the tin, place on cooling rack and allow to cool completely. When ready to decorate, cut out the center of each cupcake, angling the knife at a 45º angle.
• Then cut the loose piece in half to resemble butterfly wings. Place a small amount of jam in the center. Follow with a dollop of cream (or buttercream, if desired). You can also pipe the cream like I did. Next, place the "wings" on top.
• Repeat with all of the cupcakes, then dust each one generously with powdered sugar. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

BUTTERFLY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or spray bottoms and sides of two 8- or 9-inch round pans. Make, bake and cool cake as directed on box for 8- or 9-inch rounds. Wrap and freeze 1 layer for later use. Freeze remaining layer 45 minutes before cutting to reduce crumbs.
• Cut off rounded top of cake to make flat surface; place cake cut side down. Cut cake in half crosswise; cut each half into 1/3 and 2/3 pieces (as shown in diagram). Place cake pieces on platter to form butterfly. Gently separate cake pieces to form wings.
• Reserve 1/2 cup frosting; set aside. Spread top and sides of cake with thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate or freeze 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting. Frost cake with remaining frosting. Place candy stick between cake pieces for butterfly body.
• Stir food color into reserved frosting until well blended. Spread over cake in desired pattern on wings. Outline wing patterns with gel. Sprinkle with sugar crystals. Place jelly beans on corners of wings. Decorate butterfly with candy decorations. Store loosely covered.

BUTTERFLY CUT-UP CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for two 8-inch or 9-inch rounds. Wrap and freeze 1 layer for other use. Refrigerate or freeze remaining layer 30 to 60 minutes or until firm for easier handling.
• Using serrated knife, cut rounded top off cake to level surface; place cut side down. Cut cake in half; cut a notch on each cut side, slightly below center, to form wings as shown in diagram. To make butterfly, arrange 2 wings on foil-covered tray; use 2 of the leftover notched pieces to form the body, trimming if necessary. Attach pieces together with a small amount of frosting. Spread a thin layer of frosting over top and sides to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate or freeze cake 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting. Frost entire cake.
• Sprinkle with colored sugars. Outline wings and body with decorating gel. Decorate wings with assorted candies as desired. Roll fruit snack rolls to make antennae. Store loosely covered.

HOW TO CUT AND ASSEMBLE A BUTTERFLY CAKE

Steps:

• 1. 1. Cut cake in half. Then cut each half in 1/3 and 2/3 pieces.
• 2. 2. On a tray, arrange the cake pieces with the curved sides together to form the butterfly.
• 3. 3. Separate the cake pieces to form the wings.
• 4. Now you can decorate your butterfly. I found that using stick candy or tube licorice is great for the body mid section.

BUTTERFLY CAKE

Steps:

• Line a 13x9-in. baking pan with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside., In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack., For frosting, beat shortening and butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in 2 cups confectioners' sugar, then the salt, extracts and 3 tablespoons milk. Beat in remaining confectioners' sugar and enough milk to achieve a spreading consistency. Tint frosting with food coloring, setting aside a small amount of pale purple frosting for the face. Tint remaining frosting a darker purple as desired., Remove cake from pan and discard waxed paper. For butterfly body, cut a 9x1-in. strip from the cake's short side. Round the edges if desired. For wings, cut remaining cake into four triangles. Frost top and sides of each piece. Decorate sides of body with purple jimmies; decorate wing pieces with pink jimmies and purple sugar., Place butterfly body on a serving platter. Pipe reserved frosting onto head; form a smile and antennae with shoestring licorice. Add Skittle eyes. Cut licorice twists into short lengths; arrange in stripes over butterfly's body. Arrange wing pieces on platter, forming a butterfly.

BUTTERFLY CAKES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a cupcake tin with 10 cases. To make the sponge, tip the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and milk into a large mixing bowl and beat with either a hand whisk or electric mixer until smooth, pale and combined. Divide the batter between the cases and bake for 15 mins until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean. Leave on a wire rack to cool.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream by beating together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Mix in the extra milk if the icing feels too stiff.
• Once the cakes are cool, use a sharp knife to slice off the tops, then cut the tops in half. Pipe or spread the buttercream on top of the cakes, then gently push two semi-circular halves into the buttercream on each cake, doing this at an angle to look like butterfly wings. You can serve the cupcakes at this stage, or decorate them with a little blob of jam in the centre and a scattering of sprinkles, if you like.

BUTTERFLY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the already sifted cake flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until soft, then add the sugar and mix. Add the yolk, the egg and the vanilla and whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer running at low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and mix. Then add half of the sour cream and mix. Add another third of the flour and mix. Add the remaining sour cream and mix, then the remaining flour. Give it one last mix to make sure everything is blended in. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full. Bake until firm to the touch in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and let cool.
• To make the butterflies, spread a thick layer of rainbow sprinkles on a plate. Cut off the top rounded "cap" (like the cap of a mushroom or a muffin) of each cupcake. Spread the flat top of each "beheaded" cupcake with frosting. Cut a "V" shape wedges out of the center of each cap, creating 2 semicircles that will serve as the butterfly wings. Spread the flat cut side of the 2 semicircles with frosting, then dip in rainbow sprinkles to coat. Place the 2 wings on top of each cupcake, sprinkles side up, so that the curved sides meet in the middle.
• Lay 3 strands of red licorice down the center of each one to make the body. Use two pieces of black licorice to make the antennae. Pipe 2 black dots for the eyes, placing one white sprinkle in the center of each eye.
• Over medium heat, cook the flour and milk until thickened. Let cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour mixture.

BUTTERFLY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two 12-hole cupcake tins with paper muffin cases. Put all the cake ingredients in a large bowl and whisk with an electric whisk for 3-4 mins or until pale and light. Divide the mixture evenly among the 24 cases and bake for 20 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
• While the cupcakes bake, make the syrup. Put the sugar, lavender and 300ml water in a medium pan over a low heat. Bring gradually to the boil, cook for 2 mins, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse. When cold, strain through a sieve into a small jug.
• To make the icing, put the butter, icing sugar and 100ml of the syrup in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon, then switch to an electric whisk and whisk until smooth and fluffy. Divide the mixture between three bowls. Add a tiny dot of food colouring gel to each bowl to make three different colours of buttercream - stir to mix, then transfer half of each colour to disposable piping bags.
• Use a cocktail stick to poke a few little holes in the top of the cupcakes, then drizzle each with 1 tsp of the syrup. Put 1 heaped tsp of icing onto each cake (do eight of each colour) and swirl it round with the back of the spoon to completely cover the top. Next, use the matching piping bag to pipe a straight line about 2-3 cm long across the middle of each cake.
• To make the wings, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Divide into three smaller bowls and add the same gel colours as before. Cut 8cm squares of baking parchment and, using a pen, draw a pair of butterfly wings on each square so that the design shows through on the other side or, if you prefer, trace the design below. Turn the paper over and, using the line as a guide, paint on the melted chocolate. Sprinkle crushed biscuits on the edges to create patterns, then leave to set. Once set, gently push the wings into the cupcakes at a 45-degree angle.

FAMILY FUN'S BUTTERFLY CAKE (FOR DUMMIES)

Steps:

• *Note: I must confess that I cheated and used a box of 'Baker Josef's Golden Yellow Cake Mix' from Trader Joe's. Sincere apologies to my loyal fans who depend on me for made-from-scratch recipes. Also, it's worth mentioning I made two cakes-one using a standard 9" pie pan and the other using a 9" cast iron skillet. The cake baked in the cast iron skillet turned out far better. To remove the cake from the pan *after it has cooled completely*, first take a knife and run along the edge of the pan to loosen. Place a wire cookie rack over the top of the pan, invert carefully and set aside. I used two spatulas and carefully moved the cake from the wire rack to the cake serving plate to frost it. This method worked best for this inexperienced cake baker. Two cakes were made in case of any mistakes. The second cake was cut in half then in half again and made into "baby butterflies".
• Other candy decorating suggestions: M&Ms (regular or mini size), gummy candy, non pareils, sprinkles, etc.
• Once cake has baked and cooled *completely*, cut the cake in half (see photo) and place the two halves close together with the flat/straight cut side facing out and curved sides facing each other (leave about a 3/4" gap between the two halves).
• Frost. For my test cake: The main body/wings and Twinikie were frosted yellow, the inner body pink. I made a pattern out of a piece of paper for the inner wing design. Placed the piece on paper on the cake halves and using a toothpick made small holes around the edge of the pattern as my guide. Then I carefully drew the line with the toothpick. Remove paper and frosted the main section first then the inner wing. (See photo.).
• Frost the Twinkie and place it on top of the two cut cake halves between the wings for the butterfly's body.
• *Decorate the wings with candies and adding licorice antennae to the Twinkie. (I just curled the ends of the licorice and placed the pieces on the plate.).
• *Tip: it's best to decorate the cake right before serving [depending] on the candies you choose. As an example, if you use M&M candies, the dye will run and stain the frosting. Fortunately I was able to frost the cake the day before and due to the type of candies used had no staining problems.