Sunny Sunshine Cupcakes Food

SUNFLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy - about 2 minutes. Add 5 cups confectioners' sugar, the heavy cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I like 1/8 tsp salt.)
• Spoon 3/4 cup of frosting into a separate bowl. Stir in green food coloring. This will be for the leaves.
• Tint the remaining frosting with yellow and orange food coloring to obtain desired sunflower color. See my note below for what I used.
• Fill piping bag with leaf tip + yellow frosting. If you have a second leaf tip, fill a 2nd bag with leaf tip + green frosting.
• Pipe or spread a circle of frosting in the center of the cupcake. My cupcake centers are about 1.25 inches in diameter. Dip into chocolate sprinkles.
• See video above for a visual of this step. (It's hard to explain perfectly!) Start on the outer edge of the cupcake. Pipe yellow petals all the way around, lifting the piping tip in an upwards direction. Pipe a second layer closer to the center/on top of the first layer. Pipe a third layer of petals right against the center of the sunflower. Pipe any additional petals to fill any gaps, then pipe a couple green leafs on the edges.
• Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve. Cupcakes are fine at room temperature for a few hours, as long as they have been refrigerated for a couple hours after frosting/assembling. (The time in the refrigerator helps the petals hold their shape before serving.)
• Cover leftover cupcakes and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

SUNSHINE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Prepare cake batter mix according to package directions for cupcakes; cool completely., In a small bowl, tint frosting yellow. Frost cupcakes. Press two chocolate chips into each cupcake for eyes. For mouths, cut licorice into 1-in. pieces; bend slightly to curve. Press one licorice piece into each cupcake. Add candy corn around edges of cupcakes.

LEMONY SUNSHINE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with 16 foil cupcake liners; set aside.
• Place shortbread cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl; stir until well combined; set aside.
• In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time and mix just until combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add vegetable oil, water, and the box of lemon pudding. Mix until combined. Add cake mix and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Batter will be on the thick side.
• Place a slightly heaping tablespoon of shortbread cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use your fingers or the bottom of a small glass to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining shortbread cookie crumb mixture for topping.
• Use a 1/4 cup spring loaded ice cream scoop and place a level scoop full of batter into each muffin cup.
• Load the lemon curd into a small sandwich size resealable bag, removing the air from the bag before sealing. Squeeze the curd to 1 corner of the bag and use scissors to snip a 1/4- inch piece from corner of bag; set aside.
• With a damp finger or the end of a wooden spoon dipped in water, make a shallow indentation into the center of each cupcake. Pipe 3/4 to 1 teaspoon lemon curd into each indentation. Sprinkle tops of cupcakes evenly with remaining shortbread cookie crumbs.
• Bake for 21 to 23 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking, until edges of cupcakes are lightly golden brown.
• Serve cupcakes warm from the oven or at room temperature.
• A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

LEMONY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt.
• Beat together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg, yolk, zest and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until a tester inserted in the middle of the cakes come out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the tin, and then remove and cool completely on a rack.
• Put the lemon curd in a piping bag fitted with a 1/8-inch-round pastry tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake and pipe in equal amounts of curd.
• Combine the egg whites, corn syrup, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and the remaining pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Beat with an electric mixer until thick and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat until the frosting is slightly cooled, about 2 minutes longer.
• Mound the frosting on top of the cupcakes. If desired, use a kitchen torch to brown the frosting and garnish with a lemon candy.

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.