Family Funs Butterfly Cake For Dummies Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a cupcake tin with 10 cases. To make the sponge, tip the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and milk into a large mixing bowl and beat with either a hand whisk or electric mixer until smooth, pale and combined. Divide the batter between the cases and bake for 15 mins until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean. Leave on a wire rack to cool.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream by beating together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Mix in the extra milk if the icing feels too stiff.
• Once the cakes are cool, use a sharp knife to slice off the tops, then cut the tops in half. Pipe or spread the buttercream on top of the cakes, then gently push two semi-circular halves into the buttercream on each cake, doing this at an angle to look like butterfly wings. You can serve the cupcakes at this stage, or decorate them with a little blob of jam in the centre and a scattering of sprinkles, if you like.

Steps:

• *Note: I must confess that I cheated and used a box of 'Baker Josef's Golden Yellow Cake Mix' from Trader Joe's. Sincere apologies to my loyal fans who depend on me for made-from-scratch recipes. Also, it's worth mentioning I made two cakes-one using a standard 9" pie pan and the other using a 9" cast iron skillet. The cake baked in the cast iron skillet turned out far better. To remove the cake from the pan *after it has cooled completely*, first take a knife and run along the edge of the pan to loosen. Place a wire cookie rack over the top of the pan, invert carefully and set aside. I used two spatulas and carefully moved the cake from the wire rack to the cake serving plate to frost it. This method worked best for this inexperienced cake baker. Two cakes were made in case of any mistakes. The second cake was cut in half then in half again and made into "baby butterflies".
• Other candy decorating suggestions: M&Ms (regular or mini size), gummy candy, non pareils, sprinkles, etc.
• Once cake has baked and cooled *completely*, cut the cake in half (see photo) and place the two halves close together with the flat/straight cut side facing out and curved sides facing each other (leave about a 3/4" gap between the two halves).
• Frost. For my test cake: The main body/wings and Twinikie were frosted yellow, the inner body pink. I made a pattern out of a piece of paper for the inner wing design. Placed the piece on paper on the cake halves and using a toothpick made small holes around the edge of the pattern as my guide. Then I carefully drew the line with the toothpick. Remove paper and frosted the main section first then the inner wing. (See photo.).
• Frost the Twinkie and place it on top of the two cut cake halves between the wings for the butterfly's body.
• *Decorate the wings with candies and adding licorice antennae to the Twinkie. (I just curled the ends of the licorice and placed the pieces on the plate.).
• *Tip: it's best to decorate the cake right before serving [depending] on the candies you choose. As an example, if you use M&M candies, the dye will run and stain the frosting. Fortunately I was able to frost the cake the day before and due to the type of candies used had no staining problems.

Steps:

• Cream butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Sift flour and baking powder together. Fold into the creamed mixture.
• Stir in milk.
• Place 18 cupcake cases in a cupcake tin. Spoon mixture evenly into paper cases.
• Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly touched.
• Transfer to wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
• While cooling, mix all icing ingredients together (butter, icing sugar, custard powder) and beat together until creamy.
• Cut a slice from the top of each cup cake. Cut this in half.
• Place a teaspoonful of the icing in each cavity.
• Arrange wings on cake.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, orange zest and extract; beat until combined. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Spoon into two greased 9-in. heart-shaped baking pans; spread evenly in pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., Cut 1-1/2 in. off the pointed ends of each heart cake; set aside. Place the large pieces on a 17x15-in. covered board, placing cut sides of hearts together, forming wings. Trim the reserved pointed end pieces to form the top and bottom of the butterfly's body., In a small bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Remove 1/2 cup frosting and tint yellow; set aside. Frost cake sides and top with white frosting. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert #6 round tip. Fill bag with remaining white frosting; set aside., Frost a portion of each wing with yellow frosting. Decorate butterfly's body and wings with colored sugars. Pipe white frosting to separate colored sections on wings and to outline the body. Decorate the wings with gumdrops., Using a citrus stripper, cut two 12-in.-long pieces of orange peel. Wrap around the handle of a wooden spoon. Remove from spoon and place above the body for antennae.