Sunflower Cake Food

SUNFLOWER CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms and sides of two 8-inch round cake pans.
• Prepare the cake batter according to the package instructions. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Let cool in the pans about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks and let cool completely.
• For the frosting: Meanwhile, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt and 3 tablespoons milk the in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a handheld electric mixer). Mix on low speed until mostly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until smooth, adding more milk as necessary to make a spreadable frosting.
• Transfer 1 cup of the frosting to a small bowl and tint with the brown gel food coloring. Scrape the brown frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch plain round tip (number 804).
• Tint the remaining frosting with the lemon yellow and golden yellow gel food coloring. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip (number 803) with 3 cups of the yellow frosting.
• Cover the remaining yellow frosting (about 3 1/4 cups) with plastic warp and reserve for frosting the cake.
• To assemble: Place one cake layer upside down on an extra-large cutting board or platter (at least 20-by-14-inches). Using a serrated knife, cut the other cake layer into 8 wedges. Lightly trim the rounded side of each wedge so it is flat; discard the trimmings. Arrange the wedges around the cake, trimmed side against the cake, to create a sunflower shape.
• Pipe a circle of yellow frosting around the center cake to create a 1/2-inch border.
• Spread the reserved yellow frosting in the bowl evenly over the top and sides of the cake, (including the petals), leaving the circle inside the piped border unfrosted.
• Pipe a continuous spiral of brown frosting inside the 1/2-inch yellow border, starting at the edge of the border and working in towards the middle until the center of the cake is filled.
• Place one brown candy on its edge in the center of the brown frosting. Place a second candy next to it, leaving a candy-size space between. Continue to place candies around the center, working out towards the edge and arranging the successive rows of candies in the spaces between the previous rows until the center of the cake is filled.
• Holding the pastry bag with the remaining yellow frosting at a 45-degree angle, pipe a small dollop of frosting on the edge of one of the cake petals, stopping and pulling the bag off the dollop to create a tip. Repeat the dollops, working out toward the tip of the petal until the petal is filled. Repeat with the remaining petals. Slice the cake and serve.

PEEP SUNFLOWER CAKE

Steps:

• Arrange 3 cupcakes vertically at the bottom of a large platter to form a stem. Arrange 2 cupcakes to the left and 2 cupcakes to the right of the stem to create leaves. Arrange the remaining 17 cupcakes at the top of the stem in a large circle.
• Combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt and 4 tablespoons of the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a handheld electric mixer). Mix on low speed until mostly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium high and mix until smooth and spreadable. If the frosting is too thick to spread, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the remaining milk and mix until spreadable.
• Transfer 2 cups of the frosting to a medium bowl. Add about 12 drops of leaf green gel food coloring and mix to combine.
• Add a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of the lemon yellow gel food coloring to the bowl of remaining white frosting and beat until combined. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to scoop a large dollop of the yellow frosting onto each of the 17 cupcakes that make up the flower. Use a small offset spatula to smooth over the tops and sides of the cupcakes (but not the liners).
• Wash and dry the ice cream scoop (or large spoon) and offset spatula. Use the ice cream scoop or large spoon to scoop a large dollop of the green frosting onto each of the 7 cupcakes that make up the stem and leaves. Use the small offset spatula to smooth over the tops and sides of the cupcakes (but not the liners). Scrape the remaining green frosting into a small pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip (number 802).?
• Pipe the outline of each leaf with the green frosting, then pipe a line of green frosting inside each leaf from the point to the stem. Pipe additional lines from side to side to create veins in the leaves. Use the offset spatula to square off the bottom of the stem.
• Arrange the marshmallow chicks facing outward in a circle around the perimeter of the flower, pressing to adhere. Fill the center with the chocolate wafer crumbs and press to adhere to the frosting.

SUNFLOWER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with shortening or cooking spray. Make cake batter as directed on box--except stir chocolate chips into batter. Reserve 1 cup batter. Pour remaining batter into pans. Stir cocoa into reserved 1 cup batter. Drop chocolate batter by tablespoonfuls randomly onto batter in pans. Cut through batter with knife for marbled design.
• Bake 27 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around edges to loosen cakes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Place 1 cake round on large serving plate. Cut remaining cake into 8 triangles; place around cake pointed sides out to look like sunflower petals.
• In medium bowl, stir white frosting and tube of yellow gel food color until well blended. Frost sides and top of cake with yellow frosting. Sprinkle petals with yellow sugar. For sunflower seeds, pipe black decorating icing in center round of cake, using star tip. Make small bee using decorating icing. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

SUNSHINE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease two loose-bottomed 20cm/8in sandwich cake tins and line the bases with baking paper.
• Place the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then add the oil, carrot, banana and courgettes to the eggs and stir. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together using an electric whisk until combined.
• Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until well risen and lightly golden. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The cakes will shrink back a little when cooling.
• To make the icing, place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and half of the icing sugar and whisk again until combined. Add the remaining icing sugar and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Spread half of the icing over one cake. Sandwich the cakes together, then spread the remaining icing on the top and swirl. Arrange dried banana slices in a ring or spiral pattern on top of the cake. Cut into slices to serve.

SUNFLOWER CAKE

Steps:

• Using a palette knife, frost 1 of the 9-inch cakes with the chocolate frosting. Frost the sides first, building extra frosting at the top of the sides. Then, frost the top. Since this part of the cake is supposed to look like the center of a sunflower, the frosting should not be smooth, but should swirl into peaks. To create this swirled, peaked effect, lightly run the palette knife through the frosting and gently pull up. Using a spatula place the cake in the center of a platter that is at least 20-inches by 20-inches or you can use a piece of cardboard that is covered with foil.
• To create the petals: Using a serrated knife, cut the second 9-inch cake in half. Then, cut each of the halves in half again. You should have 4 triangles. Cut each of these 4 triangles in half again to create 8 triangular pieces. Using a paring knife, trim each of the eight petals to curve slightly inward so they hug the outside of the center of the cake. Be careful not to trim off too much. Start at the corner of the curved edge, and trim a slightly rounded arc that ends at the opposite corner of the rounded edge. Using the yellow frosting and a small spatula or palette knife, frost the top and 2 sides. There is no need to frost the curved edge. Once the pieces are frosted, place them around the cake. Looking at the cake as though it was a clock, place the petals at 12, 3, 6 and 9. Place the remaining four petals in between 12 and 3, in between 3 and 6, in between 6 and 9 and in between 9 and 12.

SUNFLOWER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Beat first 5 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended; pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round pans. Bake 25 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 10 min; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
• Cut 1 peach into 12 thin slices, then cut each remaining peach into 8 wedges. Stack cake layers on plate, filling layers with 2/3 cup COOL WHIP and thin peach slices.
• Frost top and side of cake with remaining COOL WHIP. Arrange peach wedges on top of cake to resemble sunflower petals, leaving 3-inch circle in center; fill center with blueberries. Mix jam and remaining 1 tsp. water; brush onto peach wedges. Garnish with mint.