Pansy Flower Cupcakes Food

PANSY COOKIES

Steps:

• Break off a quarter of the cookie dough (about 6 tablespoons) and divide into 2 pieces. Put each piece in a separate small bowl. Tint one piece with 4 drops of purple gel food coloring. Tint the other piece with 3 drops of purple gel food coloring and 2 drops of white food coloring.
• Roll out the remaining un-tinted cookie dough between 2 pieces of parchment to an 1/8-inch-thick round (about 12 inches in diameter). Remove the top piece of parchment and reserve.
• Break off a chickpea-size piece of dark purple dough and roll into a rough ball. Place on the rolled-out dough. Arrange 6 roughly rolled chickpea-size pieces of the light purple dough around the dark purple dough in a flower pattern (these will become the petals) about 1 1/2-inches round. Make more flowers with the remaining tinted dough: leave about a 1/2 inch between each flower shape and alternate between dark purple and light purple dough in the center and petals.
• Top the dough with the parchment and gently roll out until the dough is flat and even. Slide the round onto a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Use a 1 3/4-inch 6-petal flower cookie cutter to cut out each flower shape. Arrange on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies until just barely golden on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet on a rack.
• Pipe a small yellow dot of icing in the center of each cookie. Let sit for 15 minutes to set.

PINA COLADA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, coconut milk, vegetable oil and vanilla and coconut extracts in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters of the way. Bake until the tops of the cupcakes are golden and spring back when gently pressed, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the rum, lime juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. When the cupcakes are done, poke them all over with a toothpick and brush with the rum syrup while still warm. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Bring the pineapple juice to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until syrupy and reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until completely cool. Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the confectioners' sugar and salt. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts and beat 1 minute, then add the rum and the reduced pineapple juice and beat to combine. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and top with the shredded coconut. Decorate with maraschino cherries and cocktail umbrellas.

ORANGE FLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and vanilla bean seeds together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until blended, then beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in half the flour mixture, followed by the milk and then the remaining flour mixture until smooth.
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and bake until the tops are lightly browned and spring back when pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting: Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes more. Beat in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag with a plain round tip (about 3/8-inch).
• Frost each cupcake evenly and top with a circle of overlapping mandarin segments that touch in the middle and curve in the same direction. Place a raspberry in each center. Combine the jelly with 1 tablespoon water in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave until warm but not hot, about 30 seconds. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the mandarin and raspberries with the jelly.

PANSY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Using a serrated knife, trim top of each cupcake to make level. Tint 1/2 cup buttercream green and 1/4 cup pale yellow with gel-paste food colors. Divide 2 cups buttercream among two bowls; tint one portion light violet and the other a darker shade. Transfer tinted frostings to pastry bags fitted only with couplers. Tint remaining buttercream pale pink. Using an offset spatula, spread a smooth layer of pink buttercream over cupcakes.
• With green buttercream and a small plain tip (#2), pipe stems on cupcake. Using dark violet buttercream and a small petal tip (#103), pipe two large, basic petals (similar to cherry blossom petals, page 172) side by side. Then make two smaller petals, one on top of each of the first ones, using the same petal technique; apply less pressure and make a smaller arc than you did for larger petals. Using light violet buttercream and same petal tip, pipe a ruffle for the flower's base, pivoting tip as with petals, and turning the cupcake while connecting the petals. To finish the ruffle neatly, pull bag toward center of flower as you release pressure. Pipe a dot in center of each blossom with yellow buttercream and the #2 tip. If desired, use green buttercream and another small petal tip (#60) to pipe the leaf shown at left. Repeat for remaining cupcakes. Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow frosting to set. Cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before serving.