Tablescape Centerpiece Candy Castle Cake Recipes

CHRISTINA'S CINDERELLA'S CASTLE CAKE

Steps:

• To make the cake base: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 9 by 9-inch cake pan.
• Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and scrape into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan and let cool completely.
• To make the towers: Generously grease the cans with shortening. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Divide the batter among the cans, filling them not more than halfway. Bake until a cake tester, wooden skewer or raw piece of spaghetti inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes for the smaller cans and 1 1/4 hours for the large can. Place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the cans and let cool completely.
• To prepare the frosting: Put 2 tubs of frosting in a mixing bowl and add blue food coloring until it reaches the desired shade. Set aside. Divide the remaining tub of frosting between 2 bowls and color 1 purple and 1 pink. Set aside.
• To assemble the cake: Place the square cake on a platter and cover with blue frosting. Use a serrated knife to trim the tower cakes so the tops are flat. Cover the towers with blue frosting. Set the large tower on the center of the base cake and then set 1 of the smaller towers on top of it, securing with 1 or 2 straws or skewers. Set 1 small tower on each side of the large one, securing them to the base cake with a straw or skewer (cut to fit as needed).
• Cover the sugar cones with purple icing and place open-side down on top of each tower. Use a spatula to smooth out the frosting on the cakes or cones.
• Fill the pastry bag with pink icing and pipe a border around the edges of the cake. Insert lollipops around the edge of the base cake to make a fence. Set the doll in front of the main tower and scatter the sprinkles over all.

TABLESCAPE CENTER PIECE MINI CAKES THREE WAYS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray the mini brioche tins with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly dust with flour and place on a sheet tray. Line cupcake tin with white paper liners.
• Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions, substituting the buttermilk for the water in recipe. Fill the brioche tins and cupcakes 2/3 of the way to the top. You should get about 18 cupcakes. Bake, rotating pans halfway, until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Brioche tins will take about 8 to 10 minutes, cupcakes will take 12 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cool 5 minutes before unmolding and cooling completely on a wire cooling rack.
• To make the poured icing for mini fluted cakes: Combine 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar with enough lemon juice to form a thin glaze about the consistency of syrup. Dye with equal amounts of red and blue food coloring until the desired lavender color is reached. Place the cakes upside down on a cooling rack fitted inside a sheet tray. Pour the icing over the top of the cakes, allowing it to drip down the sides and completely coat the cake. Allow to set up.
• Meanwhile, mix enough of the confectioner's sugar (1/4 to 1/3 cup) for the icing to thicken; it should be about the consistency of pancake batter. Add an additional drop or 2 of each food coloring to deepen the color. Place the icing in a small zip top bag and snip the corner. Pipe just over the top of the fluted cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
• To make the frosting for the cupcakes, combine the can of vanilla frosting with enough of the remaining confectioners' sugar to stiffen slightly and allow the frosting hold a shape when piped. Color with equal amounts of red and blue food coloring to the desired lavender color. Place in a pastry bag or a resealable zip top bag fitted with a round pastry tip. Put 12 cupcakes into lavender cupcake covers. Pipe the frosting on top, holding the tip just above surface of the cupcake and raising slightly as you squeeze to form a ball of frosting.
• To assemble: Place the cupcakes evenly spaced on the largest bottom tier and top each with a small sprig of lavender. On the middle tier arrange the fluted cakes evenly. On the top tier place 4 store bought petit fours. Once on the table, sprinkle the whole stand with edible glitter.

CANDY TREE

Steps:

• Decorate beaded tree form with candy and ribbons.

MAY DAY CENTERPIECE CAKE

Steps:

• Special Equipment: 1 1/2-inch thick wooden dowel (10 inches long)
• 1/2-inch ribbon (48 inches each pink, mint, lavender and yellow)
• Hot glue gun or tape
• 1/4-inch star pastry tip
• Secure a colored ribbon with tape 4-inches from the bottom of dowel. Flip dowel upside down and twist the ribbon around and down the dowel (there will be excess ribbon at the end). Secure ribbon at the top of the dowel with tape or glue. Repeat with the rest of the ribbons.
• Place 1 cake layer on a glass cake plate. Spread top with lemon frosting and top with the second cake layer. Frost the entire cake with 2 containers of vanilla frosting. Set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 container vanilla frosting with 3 drops red food coloring and 1/4 teaspoon strawberry extract to make pink frosting. In another bowl, combine 1 container vanilla frosting, 3 drops green food coloring and 1/8 teaspoon mint extract to make green frosting. In a third bowl, combine 1 container vanilla frosting, 4 drops red food coloring, 2 drops blue food coloring and 1/4 teaspoon cherry extract to make lavender frosting.
• Make a pastry bag by cutting a small triangle out of the bottom corner of a large zip-top bag. Place a star pastry tip on the inside of the bag and fit tightly into the hole. Place pastry bag, tip down into a large drinking glass. Place a large spoonful of each color of frosting along the sides of the pastry bag. Remove bag from glass and, starting from the top, squeeze frosting into the tip. Pipe a colored border around bottom and top of vanilla-frosted cake. Pipe the colored frosting on the cupcake tops in an upward swirl motion.
• To assemble centerpiece, place cake on table. Insert the bottom end (without the excess ribbon) of the dowel into center of cake. Pipe colored icing around bottom of dowel. Carefully lay each color of ribbon on the table and arrange cupcakes at the ends of the ribbons. Tie the ends of the ribbons in bows and trim off the excess.
• Place more cupcakes on top of the cake. Decorate the whole cake with some edible flowers.

TABLESCAPE CENTERPIECE: FORTUNE BUSH

Steps:

• Line 2 sheet pans with wax paper, unwrap all the fortune cookies, and pour the sanding sugar into a shallow bowl.
• In a glass bowl in the microwave, melt 1 bag of white chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, being sure to stir the chocolate frequently. When completely melted, dip half of the fortune cookies from the pointed end and the other half from the rounded end. Dip in the bowl with purple sanding sugar while still wet. Place on the wax paper-lined sheet pans and allow to set up.
• To make the royal icing, beat together the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder with the lemon juice. Slowly add in the water until smooth and thick (the icing should not be runny).
• To assemble, cover the styrofoam cone with craft paper, using tape to secure. Start on the bottom row with the cookies dipped from the rounded end. Put a dollop of royal icing on the back of a cookie and press gently against the cone. Hold for a few seconds. Repeat around the base. Allow icing to set 5 minutes before continuing to the next row. (To help secure each cookie you can also use toothpicks inserted into the cone through the fold in the middle of each cookie.) Using cookies dipped from the pointed end, adhere around the cone above the first row in the same manner. Repeat, alternating rows between cookies dipped on the rounded and pointed ends, allowing each row to set for 20 minutes in between. Don't worry if they don't line up perfectly, the spaces will be covered later with ribbon. When complete, stick 2 cookies together with icing and place on the very top. Allow to dry for a few hours.
• To finish, using purple satin ribbon, start at the top and make loops by securing into the empty spaces with the pearl-topped pins. Scatter the violets throughout, securing to the cone in the same manner. Gently place atop a cake stand in the center of your table.