Marthas Sunflower Cupcakes Food

SUNFLOWER CUPCAKE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flours, baking powder, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into a bowl.
• Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat in vanilla.
• Butter a 5-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, dust with all-purpose flour, and tap out excess. Line mini-muffin tins with mini baking cups (you'll need 75 cupcakes total).
• Fill tart pan halfway with batter (about 1/2 cup), then fill each baking cup halfway with batter (a generous tablespoon each). Bake until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 12 minutes for the cupcakes and 14 minutes for the cake. Transfer pans to wire racks, and let cake and cupcakes cool completely.
• Transfer 1/4 cup buttercream to a bowl, and stir in cocoa powder. Divide remaining buttercream among 3 bowls, and tint each batch a different shade of yellow or orange with gel-paste food coloring. Frost tops of cupcakes using the 3 colors. Frost top of cake with chocolate buttercream. Arrange berries over top of cake to cover and create "seeds." Arrange cupcakes around cake to create "petals," forming a sunflower shape.

SUNFLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Starting at edge of an unfrosted cupcake, pipe 3 to 4 circles of petals with buttercream, working inward and overlapping, leaving center empty. Fill center with chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

MARTHA'S SUNFLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Cupcakes:Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Line two standard muffin tins with 18 cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in vanilla seeds. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until combined after each addition.
• Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Buttercream:Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is warm to the touch and feels completely smooth when rubbed between fingertips.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue whisking until mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), 6 to 8 minutes.
• Reduce speed to medium-low and add butter a few tablespoons at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Switch to paddle attachment and beat on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula; continue beating until frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using same day. If not, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.
• Reserve 1/2 cup buttercream. Tint remaining buttercream yellow, adding food color a drop at a time until desired color is reached. If necessary, use reserved buttercream to lighten color.
• Transfer buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a small leaf tip (such as Wilton #70). Pipe a row of slightly overlapping petals around the edge of a cupcake. Pipe a second row of petals, overlapping previous petals. Repeat piping process, overlapping petals slightly and creating 2 to 3 more rows of petals. Pipe a small amount of frosting in center of cupcake; cover with sunflower seeds. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Decorated cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 6 hours; bring to room temperature before serving.

SNOWMAN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard muffin tins with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour and beating until combined after each addition.
• Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins 10 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to wire racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored in airtight containers in freezer up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before using.
• Buttercream: Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch. Remove from heat and transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form and mixture is cool to the touch, about 6 minutes. Whisk in vanilla.
• Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on low, add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until smooth, about 3 minutes. Buttercream can be stored, covered, in refrigerator up to 5 days or in freezer up to 2 months. Before using, bring to room temperature (if frozen, thaw overnight in refrigerator first) and beat on low speed until smooth.
• Assembly: Frost each cupcake with about 1/4 cup buttercream, smoothing tops with an offset spatula. Transfer remaining buttercream to a resealable plastic bag. Snip a very small hole in one corner of bag.
• Using kitchen shears, cut a 1/4-inch slice off the top of 24 marshmallows. Using your fingers, press down on each to condense and make slightly smaller in size. Pipe a small dot of buttercream on the tops of 24 whole marshmallows. Place a cut marshmallow on top of each to create heads. Pipe another small dot of buttercream on top of each head, then add mint candies to create hats (reserve remaining buttercream for another use). Repeat with remaining marshmallows.
• Using a wet toothpick, poke two parallel holes in each head and insert sprinkles to create eyes. Poke another hole below the eyes and insert a sunflower seed to create nose. Repeat with remaining snowmen. Top frosted cupcakes with snowmen. Decorated cupcakes can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 day.