Behind the Scenes: Party Baking 2014

Now that I have shared all about the Strawberry Shortcake birthday party and balloon design, it's time to go a little deeper into the dessert preparations!

Baking Supplies & Decor

I used Devil's Food mix with chocolate icing and red decorating icing to make cupcakes.  

The strawberry mix and strawberry icing were for a large round layer cake and a miniature round layer cake. 

My bake ware and the cake mix instructions.

Bake ware:  I used 2 cupcake pans and lined them with silicone cupcake liners.  I found these at Dollar Tree a few years ago and now have a set of 24 each in red, pink and white.  I love that they make retrieving the cupcakes from the pan easy, are re-usable and add another pop of color to the event.

I also used two sets of round pans,one set that is standard sized and one set that is miniature.  I found the miniature sized pans a few years ago, right before Baby Girl's 1st birthday, when I was treasure hunting.  I like them because I can make her a personalized little cake that matches the larger guest cake.  I just pour a little bit of the batter from the larger cake into these pans and end up with two nice cakes.

Instructions:  I added a pic of these because I don't follow them.  Nope.  Instead I replace the water with milk, replace the oil with melted butter, add an extra egg and set the oven timer for about 5 minutes less than recommended.  I think I learned this from a Paula Deen program but I can't remember for sure.  I can tell you that it makes for really yummy cakes...though they aren't so healthy....:D

Wilton brand decorating icing in red.

I wanted to add a little color to the cupcakes since chocolate brown didn't really fit in with the theme, so I bought this ready-to-go decorating icing.  It is supposed to fit Wilton brand decorating tips, you just screw on the one you wish to use and start decorating.  Do I have Wilton brand decorating tips?  Yes, yes I do.  Did they fit this icing tube?  No, no they did not.  My tips came in a set with a decorating tube 'gun' and apparently there is a different set that you must purchase to fit the ready-to-go icing.  Sheesh!  

Not to worry though, I remembered a trick that I learned from my Mom.  Just fill a sandwich baggy with icing and cut off a bit of the corner.  Then squeeze gently to place your icing the same way you would use a  cake decorators icing bag.  If you haven't done this before you may want to practice a bit first to get a feel for how to hold the bag/ how hard to squeeze.

Chocolate cupcakes!

After adding the red touches of icing, I placed them into a roasting pan and covered them with plastic wrap.  I wanted to place them on my cupcake stand for the party, but needed a way to keep them fresh until then.  I like using a roasting pan because it's easy to get the cupcakes in and out of without smudging the icing.  It's also deep enough to add plastic wrap without the wrap hitting the icing, but shallow enough that I can slide it onto the bottom shelf of the fridge.  We keep an extra fridge in the garage and it gets pretty full in the days leading up to a party!

Another note:  I really like to do as much as I can ahead of time.  It gives me the opportunity to pay attention to all of the details and enjoy the process without being rushed.  Since I have the fridge and freezer space in the garage, I have always done my baking ahead of time.  But, there is one little problem.  Baking yummy treats makes the entire house smell wonderful, and people want to eat them!  So I make a little extra for Husby and Baby Girl to enjoy on baking day.  In fact, that is what the blue plate of cupcakes in the photo was for. 

The cupcakes all set up on the cupcake stand.

You can see how nicely the red silicone wrappers coordinate with the red polka-dots of the napkins.  I added a bit of pink curling ribbon here and there as well as a tag that said 'Devil's Food'.  To make the tag I simply cut the label from the cake mix box, punched a hole and tied it on with more curling ribbon.  I don't know about you, but I like to know what I'm eating.  This is an easy way to let guests know what you have to offer while at the same time adding another decorative touch.

The Mechanics

Pictured here are the two miniature round cakes.  I wanted to show you how they bake up taller in the center, causing an uneven top (maybe due to that extra egg, but the sponginess is worth it!)  Because I stack my cakes and then add decorations to the tops, I need them to be flat.  No big deal, I just take a serrated knife and carefully slice off the tops.  Believe me, nobody complains about this.  In fact somebody is always waiting on the sidelines to see how much gets cut off so that they can 'taste test' the progress ;)

In addition to trimming my cakes when needed, I am also known to cut the dry edges off.  Sometimes when baking, the edge of the cake that touches the pan can get a little crisp.  I want every bite of my cakes to be soft and enjoyable so I use the serrated knife here as well.  It takes a few minutes of time, but the results are worth it!

Baby Girl's Miniature Cake

After using the pink icing, I added a sliced strawberry and a few red sprinkles.  I waited to add the candle because the lid of the cake dome would not fit with the candle in place.

Doesn't the miniature cake dome work out nicely?  You can read more
about how I acquired this mini cake dome here.


 

The Large Strawberry Cake

This cake was decorated to match the miniature cake with pink icing, red sprinkles, sliced strawberries and a couple of Strawberry Shortcake figurines.  I added a little curling ribbon to the top as well as one of my cupcake charms.  I have several of these and found them a few years ago at Wal-Mart during Christmas time.  Most of them I keep packed away with my other kitchen Christmas ornaments (yes, I put up a tree in the kitchen too), but a couple of them I leave hanging on my bakers cabinet year round.  I like seeing them with my other cupcakes and I like to use them as charms for my cake stands.  Want to know more about my cupcake cabinet?  You can see it here.

That's it for the party goodies, hope you enjoyed the post!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014