Lollipop Garden Cake Food

CUPCAKE LOLLIPOPS

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup mini muffin pans with paper liners.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 4 minutes.
• Beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium low; beat in half the flour mixture, then all of the milk, then the remaining flour mixture until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Transfer the pans to a cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and let them cool completely on the rack.
• For the buttercream: Combine the butter, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high. Mix until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes more. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix to combine. Add more milk a 1/2 tablespoon at a time until the buttercream is firm but spreadable.
• Divide the buttercream evenly among 5 bowls, about a heaping 1/3 cup in each. Add the yellow gel food coloring to one bowl and mix until no streaks remain. Repeat with the remaining bowls of buttercream and the green, blue, violet and pink food colors. Scoop each color into a separate disposable piping bag with no tip; then snip off the tip of each bag so there is a hole about the size of a penny.
• Prepare a sixth piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round piping tip; this will be your decorating bag.
• Holding the decorating bag in one hand and the yellow buttercream bag in the other, pipe the yellow buttercream into the decorating bag making in a vertical stripe about 1 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining colors, working around the edge of the decorating bag to create stripes of each color and leaving at least 5 inches at the top so you can seal the bag. Be sure not to overfill the bag; you can repeat piping in the colored stripes if necessary.
• Once the cupcakes are completely cool, attach them to the lollipop sticks by poking small holes just big enough to fit a lollipop sticks in the bottom of each cupcake with the tip of a paring knife, poking through the paper liners.
• Slice 1/8 inch off the bottom (flat side) of each spice drop with a paring knife. Insert a lollipop stick through the domed top of a spice drops and slide it down so there is about 3/4 inch of the stick above the spice drop. This is where the cupcake will sit.
• Next, poke the lollipop stick into the hole in the bottom of a cupcake and slide the bottom of the cupcake down so it rests on the flat, sticky side of the spice drop. The lollipop stick should not poke through the top of the cupcake; if the cupcake seems wobbly, slide the gumdrop down a bit further and press the cupcake onto the stick a bit more. Anchor the assembled lollipop cupcakes in a Styrofoam board or stick them in tall containers filled with sugar or sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining lollipop sticks, spice drops and cupcakes.
• Holding a cupcake in one hand and the decorating bag in the other, starting in the center of the cupcake, pipe the frosting in a swirl over the top of the cupcake. Stick the frosted cupcake back into the Styrofoam to hold it upright. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days; remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving.

LOLLIPOP GARDEN CAKE

Steps:

• Tint 2 cups frosting light green, and tint the remainder dark green; chill at least 3 hours. Place bottom layer on cake round; use small offset spatula to spread 1 1/2 cups dark-green frosting over top. Add second layer; spread 1 1/2 cups dark-green frosting in a thin layer over entire cake. Refrigerate 40 minutes until frosting is firm.
• Place cake on rotating cake stand; spread another layer of dark-green frosting over cake. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a #113 tip, with light-green frosting. Place tip at base of cake; pipe elongated varying sizes of leaves up sides of cake. Chill at least one hour before serving.
• Just before serving, insert lollipop sticks in cake.

CAKE POPS

Steps:

• Prepare and bake the cake according to the package directions for a 9-by-13-inch pan. Let cool completely.
• Break the cake into pieces and place it in a food processor. Add the frosting and process until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 30 seconds. If the mixture doesn't come together, add more frosting 1 tablespoon at a time until it holds its shape.
• Using a 3/4-ounce scoop, form the mixture into 46 balls and put them on a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the candy wafers in a microwave-safe bowl and melt according to package directions. Dip a half inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the candy and then stick the tip halfway into a cake ball. Repeat with the remaining balls and sticks. Refrigerate the cake pops until completely chilled, about 1 hour.
• Microwave the candy again until melted and pour it into a tall narrow glass. Dip each cake pop into the candy and let any excess run off. If decorating, turn the cake pop upright and sprinkle with sprinkles while the coating is still wet. Stick the finished pops in two 9.8-by-11.8-inch Styrofoam blocks block and let set completely.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING FOR LOLLIPOP GARDEN CAKE

Steps:

• With electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add butter, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until smooth. Reduce speed to low; add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until fully incorporated. Chill before spreading.

CARROT CAKE FOR LOLLIPOP GARDEN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 eight-by-two-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment; butter, and dust with flour. Grate carrots in food processor; measure 2 cups, and transfer to medium bowl. Add raisins, walnuts, applesauce, and lemon juice and zest to carrots.
• Wipe food processor bowl; fit with blade. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice; pulse to mix. With motor running, pour in oil and eggs; process until smooth, scraping sides. Add carrot mixture; pulse. Pour into pans; bake about 40 minutes, until tester inserted in middle comes out clean.
• Cool in pans on rack for 20 minutes. Remove; cool completely, right side up.

WHITE CHOCOLATE LOLLIPOPS

Steps:

• Place a sheet of non-stick silicone or parchment paper on a sheet pan.
• Place 12 ounces of the white chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl and put it in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. (Time it with your watch for accuracy.) Stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula, return it to the microwave for another 30 seconds, then stir again. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted. Immediately stir in the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. (If you need to heat it a little more, place it in the microwave for another 15 seconds.)
• Using a tablespoon, pour the melted chocolate in rounds onto the silicone and place lollipop sticks in the middle of each chocolate round, giving the stick a little twist. Sprinkle the tops of the lollipops evenly with the cherries and cashews. Set aside to harden.

WALNUT HONEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Spread walnut halves in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven until fragrant, tossing occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate; let cool. Pulse nuts in a food processor until finely chopped, about 10 times. Set aside.
• Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch spring-form pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine honey and applesauce; whisk until honey is mostly dissolved. Add eggs, and whisk until fully combined.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and ginger. Stir into honey mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold in walnuts.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until golden brown on top and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool until sides of cake begin to pull away from pan, about 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and place on a serving plate. While cake is still warm, use an offset spatula to gently spread remaining honey on top as a thin glaze. Serve warm.