Cupcake Tower in .NET framework

Creator Code 128B in .NET framework Cupcake Tower

This cupcake tower presents an appropriately grown-up version of cupcakes, which are often associated with kids but have become more popular in recent years as people experiment with cake flavors One great thing about using cupcakes for a special occasion confection is that you don t have to worry about leveling or crumb-coating Everyone enjoys a cupcake with a hearty round top! I use blue-tinted frosting and blue confetti in this recipe, but you can easily substitute pink frosting and decorations if a baby girl is expected, or use yellow or green if the baby s gender is unknown This cake is shown on the fourth page of the color section Tools: Two 12-well cupcake pans, large star icing tip (such as #863), 2 couplers, cupcake stand or 3 pedestal cake plates Preparation time: 15 minutes Baking time: 20 minutes plus 30 minutes for cooling Decoration time: 40 minutes Yield: 24 servings

For the cupcakes: 1 batch Key Lime Cupcake batter (recipe follows) For the decorations: Sky blue food coloring gel White confetti

For the frosting: 1 batch Buttercream Frosting (see 8)

outside edge of each cupcake and working in toward the center so that you create a circular cone shape that ends in a sharp point

6 Sprinkle white confetti on the blue cupcakes and blue confetti on the white cupcakes 7 Place the cupcakes alternating blue and white into the positions on the cupcake

2 1 4 cups granulated white sugar 3 cups sifted cake flour 3 4 teaspoon salt 11 2 teaspoons baking powder 3 4 teaspoon baking soda 45-ounce package lime gelatin 7 eggs 13 4 cups vegetable oil 11 8 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice 11 2 teaspoons lemon extract 3 4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 3 tablespoons key lime juice 5 tablespoons sifted confectioners sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Place 12 cupcake liners in the pans 2 In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cake flour, salt, baking powder, baking

4 Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl twice to make sure everything gets incorporated

6 While the cupcakes bake, whisk together the key lime juice and confectioners sugar 7 Remove the cupcakes from the oven Let them cool in their pans for 15 minutes Then

cardboard rounds Cover each round with wrapping paper, and then cover that with heavy cellophane Stack them using plastic miniature columns available at craft stores, and then arrange your cupcakes on each level

If you need to speed up the cookie decorating process in the following recipe, consider investing in a few #2 and #5 icing tips They re inexpensive, and you make up for any money spent with the time you save in cleaning and reattaching the tips for the different colors of frosting you use

This cake, with its cavalcade of animals and humorous message, is always a hit at baby showers It shows off the decorating technique of combining cookie cutters with cakes; for this cake, cookie cutters provide an easy but distinctive way of lining up the animals that entertain the cake eaters This cake also utilizes a technique called flocking, in which you basically use sanding sugar to give a decoration a glittery presence Flocking a design directly on a cake is tough because the sanding sugar can stick to parts of your cake that you didn t want it on That s why I recommend that you limit flocking to the cookies in this recipe; the sanding sugar is easier to control on the cookies and is less likely to muck up other parts of the cake design The finished cake is shown in Figure 15-6 Tools: Three 10-x-10-inch cake pans, #2 icing tip, #5 icing tip, #7 icing tip, #16 icing tip, 4 couplers, 6 animal-shaped cookie cutters (such as a gorilla, lion, giraffe, elephant, camel, and kangaroo) Preparation time: 40 minutes Baking time: 45 minutes for the cake plus 2 hours for cooling; 10 minutes for the cookies plus 1 hour for cooling Decoration time: 13 4 hours plus 1 hour for refrigeration for the cake and overnight refrigeration for the iced cookies Yield: 32 servings

For the cake: 2 batches Delicious Yellow Cake batter (see 6) For the decorations: 1 batch Royal Icing (see 9) Neon pink food coloring gel Neon blue food coloring gel Neon green food coloring gel 6 cookies (recipe follows)

For the frosting: 2 batches Buttercream Frosting (see 8)