HOW TO Do a Buttercream Frosting Transfer

Have you ever seen a cake with a picture painted in frosting?  Not those that are printed on edible paper, but actually just made of frosting?  They are created using a Buttercream Frosting Transfer.  That is a complicated name for something that is actually quite simple.  Once you've learned to do it, you can put any picture on a cake.  All it takes is a picture, some frosting, and some time!  Oh, and a piping bag and tip. 

Here's how to do it. 

First, get your picture.  I often use coloring book pictures that I download online, or pull pictures from websites.  If you're selling these cakes you may have copyright issues, but for your own home use it's fine. In this case, my son wanted a picture that he drew to be on his cake, so he drew the picture and colored it in and gave it to me.  Once you have the picture, you need to reverse it, so scan it and flip it horizontally, then print it out again.  Here is my son's original picture (colored) next to the flipped black and white version:

Once you have a flipped version, cut out any excess paper (don't cut too close, leave a border), and tape it onto the back of something metal, like a baking sheet.  Then tape a piece of waxed paper on top of the picture.  You'll be tracing the picture onto the waxed paper.

Next, mix up your frosting into whatever colors you desire.  I always use this frosting recipe,
because it's perfect in texture for this.  Look at your picture to see how much of each color you'll need.  You will also need to know what color the main frosting color will be on the cake (the background color, if you will), and mix that up too.  Here are all my colors:

You may notice that I have a pre-made tube of black decorating icing.  This is because black is a very difficult color to make, and it's easier to just buy it.  Red is also difficult, so if you have a lot of red (I did a Lightning McQueen cake once and it had a lot of red!) I recommend buying the tube.  I always buy Wilton brand, and get the kind that will attach to my decorating tips.

Okay, now that your frosting is ready, the first step is to outline everything in black.  Fit your tip (#2 or #3, I used #3 here) onto the black frosting and begin to carefully outline.  This is the most important step.  If you mess up, simply scrape the frosting off with a toothpick and try again.

Here it is with the outline done:

Next you do all of one color, whichever you like.  Use the same size tip as before.  If you don't want to buy an icing bag, you can cut the tip off a Ziploc bag and use that, it works almost as well.

When you are loaded up with frosting, fill in the areas that are that color.  You don't have to worry about covering up the black lines, because you are looking at the back of the picture.  Whatever you did in black will be in front, and will look great when you are done, so don't worry.  Just don't go outside of the outlines. 

Finally, when you're done filling in all the colors in the picture, fill in the background using the background color, which should be the same color that the main cake will be.  Here is mine with all the colors and the background done:

It looks weird, but again, that's because you're looking at the back side of it.  When you look at the front it will be great!

Now take it and put it in the freezer, still attached to the metal sheet.  Leave it there for several hours at least, or even better overnight.

Once it's solid, frost the cake, the same color as the background color you picked earlier.

Then remove the frosting transfer from the freezer.  Carefully remove the tape and take the frosting transfer (still on the waxed paper) off the sheet.  Turn it over onto the cake in the location you want it, and carefully remove the waxed paper.

Finally, smooth the edges of the frosting transfer so they blend into the rest of the cake.  Then decorate the remaining cake as desired.

Ta-Da!  You're finished!

Here are some other cakes I've used frosting transfers with. They're a great way to personalize a cake!

How to Make A Great Birthday Cake

I always make my children's birthday cakes, and every time I have a grown-up taste them they always comment on how good they are.  They taste so much better than straight from a box or purchased from a store.  And they're really easy to make!  I do start with a cake mix, but then add other ingredients to make it taste homemade, and to make the texture and moisture perfect.

You can do it too, to make a birthday cake of any shape or flavor!  Here's how to do it:

Best Birthday Cake

Ingredients:
1 standard boxed cake mix, any flavor, any brand
1/2 package of instant pudding, any flavor (though coordinate with your cake flavor)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup water
+EVERYTHING LISTED ON THE BOX

Preheat oven to temperature listed on box.  Prepare a baking dish (or several if you're making a layer cake) in the following manner:  Grease the sides well with vegetable shortening.

Place the pan(s) on top of a piece of waxed paper and trace around the bottom with a pencil, then cut out the shape you traced.  Make a large "X" on the inside bottom of the baking pan(s) and then put the waxed paper on top.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, half a package of pudding, flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, egg, water, and all the ingredients that the recipe on the cake mix calls for (usually more eggs, water, and oil).  Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then on high for 2 minutes or until well mixed.  Pour batter carefully into prepared pan(s).  Place in preheated oven to bake.

Baking will probably take 15 minutes more than the suggested time on the box, unless you're making lots of layers.  When a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs clinging, it's done baking.

Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes.  Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan, then invert onto a cooling rack.  It should come out easily, without any breakage, because of the waxed paper on the bottom.  You can peel the waxed paper off now or later, whichever you prefer.

Cool cake completely, or wrap tightly in layers of plastic wrap and freeze, before frosting and decorating.

And if you want your cake to taste REALLY good, use this frosting recipe!

Buttercream Icing
Recipe by Wilton

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening, NOT butter flavored
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (if you want pure white frosting, use clear vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring (can be omitted if you have nut allergies)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder (this can be purchased in the baking aisle of most grocery stores, or at craft stores like Michaels)
Water as needed

In the mixer, mix butter, shortening, and salt until well combined, about 2 minutes.  Add butter, vanilla, and almond flavors and mix well.  Add powdered sugar and meringue powder and mix on low until incorporated, about 5 minutes.  Test the consistency and add water, just a teaspoon at a time, until it's the way you want it.  I usually add about 2 tablespoons.  If you add too much water you can add in some more powdered sugar to thicken it up.

You can keep this icing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.  It makes enough to frost one cake made with the recipe above.

Cranberry Apple Bread

I've been making cranberry apple bread every year since my first child was born.  It is delicious, but the original recipe really should have been called cranberry apple heart attack in loaf form.  I've been working on making it as delicious without so much of the heart attack, and I think I've succeeded.  So here is the much lighter (but still delicious) version!

Cranberry Apple Bread

Ingredients:
4-5 apples
3 cups flour (you can use 1 cup wheat and 2 white if you'd like)
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
4 large eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

First we need to make some unsweetened applesauce.  Peel, core, and slice 2 of the apples.  Place in a small saucepan with about 2 Tbs water.  Cover and cook on medium heat until apples are soft and mash easily with a fork, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and mash by hand or in a blender or food processor.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease two large loaf pans (8-inch or 9-inch) and set aside.  Peel, core, and slice remaining apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, cloves, and baking powder.  Add oil, 2/3 cup apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Stir in apples, cranberries, and nuts (if using).  Divide evenly among the two loaf pans.  Bake at 325F for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on wire rack until cool.

Makes 2 loaves.

Homemade Apple Cider

We went apple picking at a local orchard last week, and my kids were so enthusiastic and had such a great time that we came home with way more apples than I knew what to do with.  I've spent all week using them in various ways, such as apple pie filling, apple sauce, cranberry apple bread, and just sliced and dipped in caramel.  And then on Friday my littlest one asked for some apple cider.  We frequently have apple cider around this time of year but didn't have any at that moment, and so we decided to see how hard it was to make some.  Answer: easy!  It does take a few hours, but was easy and turned out great!  So if you have a bunch of apples that you don't know what to do with, or just love apple cider, this recipe will save the day!

As a note, if you live outside the US you may think this is an alcoholic drink.  In the US, apple cider is a thicker, spiced version of apple juice, similar to Wassail.  It is definitely not alcoholic. 

Homemade Apple Cider
Recipe slightly adapted from food.com

Ingredients:
8-10 medium to large apples
4 cinnamon sticks (or 4 Tbs ground cinnamon)
4 Tbs ground allspice
6 whole cloves
3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if you're using very tart apples like Granny Smith)

Quarter apples (no need to peel or core) and toss into a very large stock pot.  Add water to cover.  Add sugar and stir.  Tie up the spices into a doubled-up cheesecloth or a single-layered thin kitchen towel.  Add the spice sachet to the pot as well. 

Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Boil uncovered for 1 hour, watching and adjusting heat as needed so it doesn't boil over.  After one hour your apples will be soft and slightly mushy, like this:

 

Put the lid on and continue to simmer for 1-2 hours more, or until the apples begin to break up when you stir them.  Remove from heat.

You can let cool, or if you, like us, were feeling tortured smelling the deliciousness of the cider without being able to drink it for two hours, you can just work with it hot.

Place a large colander over a large bowl.  Remove the spice sachet from the pan.  Using a potato masher, mash the apples in the stock pot.  Once they're mashed, pour the whole thing into the colander.  Use a large spoon to gently push the apple mash to release all the juice.  Once it's mostly drained you can scoop the rest of the mash into another cheesecloth and squeeze it to get the rest of the juice out.  Discard the apple mash (or throw it in your compost heap!).  Pour the cider into a pitcher.  Place a fine-mesh sieve over the same bowl you were just using.  Pour the cider through the sieve to strain out the largish bits of apple mash.  Finally you have your completed apple cider!

You can serve this hot or refrigerate it and drink it cold.  It will keep in the fridge for a week, or you can bottle it or freeze it for later.

Makes about 1 gallon.

Big and Soft Sugar Cookies

There are so many different styles of sugar cookie.  Some are thin and crisp, some are fat and frosted, some are chewy and some are cakey.  These cookies are most like the type that you buy from the grocery store, that they always have frosted in the colors of whatever holiday is coming next, or if there isn't a holiday around the corner, they're usually pink with sprinkles on top.  They are big and soft and cakey and delicious. The frosting is to die for, especially when it's slathered on thick.  So for the next birthday, holiday, or random day, make these cookies.

Big and Soft Sugar Cookies
Recipe adapted from here

Cookies:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 tsp vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 T milk
food coloring, if desired

For the cookies:
Cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each egg.  Add vanilla, almond extract and sour cream and beat until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined.  Dough will be very sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425F.  Remove a quarter of the dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  Place remaining dough back in the refrigerator until ready to use.  Lightly flour the top of the dough before rolling dough to 1/4-inch thick.  Using a 2 1/2 or 3-inch biscuit cutter cut out circles and transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 7 minutes, then immediately transfer to a cooling rack.  Cookies should not be browned.

Continue to roll, cut, and bake cookies until all dough is used.  While cookies are cooling, make the frosting.

For the frosting:
In a large mixing bowl combine butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a spreading consistency.  Add food coloring if desired and beat until well combined.

Once cookies are completely cooled, frost generously and add sprinkles or other toppings if desired.  Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.

Glazed Doughnuts

In honor of National Doughnut Day, I thought I'd repost my favorite doughnut recipe!  Here it is!

Glazed Doughnuts

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 packets (2 T) yeast
3 cups flour
1/2 cup warm mashed potato (microwave a medium potato on high for 5 minutes, scoop out potato and mash with a fork)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 T oil
Vegetable or Canola oil to fry in
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Microwave 1 cup milk for 1 minute or until warm but not hot. Stir in yeast and let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine flour, mashed potato, salt, and sugar. Mix well then add the milk/yeast mixture and oil. Mix until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and not too sticky. Roll into a circle that is 1/2" thick. Using a doughnut cutter or two biscuit cutters, cut into doughnuts. You can either keep the doughnut holes and fry them too (we do) or re-roll them into the dough to cut out more doughnuts. Repeat until dough is used up. Place cut doughnuts on a lightly floured surface to let rise for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Put powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until glaze is desired consistency. Add vanilla and mix well.

In an electric skillet or frying pan, pour enough oil so that it is 1/2" deep in your pan. Heat until 350F (medium to medium high on a stove). It should take about 5 minutes to heat up. Place doughnuts carefully in oil, cooking each side until browned. Remove to wire rack that has paper towels underneath to catch the oil. After doughnuts have cooled for about 3 minutes, drizzle with glaze.

Makes 12-15 doughnuts and holes.

President's Day Activity: Food Faces

It's President's Day here in the US, celebrating the births of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I decided to have a little dinnertime activity where we made faces of these presidents using our dinner.  We were eating mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and grilled chicken.  Here are the results:

Washington, using potatoes, corn, lima bean, and green bean

Lincoln, using potatoes, chicken, lima beans, and green bean

Washington, using mixed vegetables and chicken

We're not sure what this is.  My two-year-old didn't specify...

Lincoln, using potatoes, chicken, lima beans, peas, corn, and green beans

Washington, using chicken, potatoes, and mixed vegetables

Which do you like?  And what creative things do you do with your food?

English Toffee

When Christmas comes everyone likes to make treats to give to friends and co-workers, or to hoard at home (ha!).  English toffee is one of my favorite Christmas treats to make.  It only has a few ingredients, it's easy to make, and tastes amazing.  It cuts up nicely and can be packaged easily, making it perfect for giving away. It is wonderful to munch on by itself, and any little bits add a perfect tasty crunch on top of ice cream or apple pie.  In other words, it's pretty much the perfect Christmas treat!

Be sure you have everything ready to go BEFORE you start cooking, because once you start you have to stir continuously until it's done, so you don't have time to run to the refrigerator to grab more butter, or to pull out the pan.  Also, I highly recommend using a candy thermometer that clips onto the side of your pan, like the ones made by Taylor company.

English Toffee

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 lb (2 cups, or 4 sticks) butter
1-2 cups whole almonds (optional)
12 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped

Have an ungreased jelly-roll pan sitting near by, ready to receive your toffee when cooked.  Also, unwrap your butter sticks and have both the butter and whole almonds sitting within reach of your stove.

In a large heavy pan combine sugar and water.  Bring to a boil over high heat with the lid on.  Uncover and cook WITHOUT STIRRING until the sugar-water mixture reaches 230-degrees F.  Add one stick of butter and stir constantly until the butter is completely melted.  Continue stirring as you add in each remaining stick, waiting until the previous stick is completely melted before adding the next.  When all the butter is melted add the whole almonds, continuing to stir vigorously.  If you don't stir fast enough the bottom will burn and ruin the entire batch.  Stir constantly until the mixture reaches 285-degrees F, or soft crack stage.  This should take an additional 5-10 minutes. The mixture will be a golden color (about the color of peanut butter), and you may hear an almond crack.  Continue stirring as you remove the toffee from the heat and immediately pour into the waiting jelly-roll pan, scraping the edges to get all the bits.  Spread the toffee evenly in the jelly-roll pan and let cool completely.  You can place the pan in the freezer or refrigerator to speed this process up.

When the toffee is completely cool, place the chopped up chocolate in a small bowl and melt in the microwave at high power for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.  Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the surface of the toffee, then immediately sprinkle the finely chopped almonds on top.  Let cool until the chocolate is hard.  Again, this can be speeded up by placing the tray in the refrigerator or freezer.

When everything is cool and hard, cut the toffee into squares (I usually cut them into roughly 2-inch squares).  I use a metal bench scraper and a mallet to do this, but you can also use a large butcher-style knife.  If you don't care what size the toffee pieces are, you can drop the entire pan onto a countertop a few times until the toffee cracks.

Store in an airtight container.  Toffee will store practically forever, but don't worry, it won't last very long, so it won't be necessary to store it forever.

Makes about 50 2-inch toffee squares.

Carve-Your-Own Jack-o-lantern Pancakes

We're a big pancake family; we eat them at least twice a week, and often four or five times.  Generally I stick to the round variety, but during holidays it's fun to shake it up a bit.  This week we had Carve-Your-Own Jack-o-lantern Pumcakes.  Or Pancakes.  Whatever.

Each person got one pumpkin-shaped pancake, and then carved a face in it before eating.  It doesn't sound like much, but the kids were crazy about it, and it's certainly easier than carving an actual pumpkin!

Here's my pancake recipe: Buttermilk Pancakes

Then you just have to dye a little bit of the batter green (no more than 1/2 cup), and the rest orange, and make some nice pumpkin shapes.

Serve them up nice and hot, and go at the carving!