How to Make Mini Flower Cakes

Happy May!  Mother’s Day is just around the corner and I’ve got the perfect recipe to whip up for the special Mom in your life: Mini Flower Cakes!  They’re pretty simple to put together and can be replicated in a variety of colors or cake flavors.  To save time, I made mine using a doctored vanilla cake mix, but you can use the cake recipe or flavor of your choice.

Mini Flower Cakes

You will need:
• (2) 9×13 Baking pans
• Circle cookie cutter
• Disposable decorating bags
• Wilton 1M decorating tip
• Wilton 2D decorating tip
• Wilton 18 decorating tip
• Wilton 2A decorating tip
• Wilton 104 decorating tip
• Wilton color right coloring system
• Cookie Spatula

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix
1 (3.4 oz) box French Vanilla Jell-O Pudding mix, dry
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
4 large eggs
1 batch Buttercream Icing

Buttercream Icing:
• 2 cups margarine
• 2 cups Crisco
• 4lbs powdered sugar
• 4 tsp clear vanilla
• 6 tbsp milk

1. Combine the margarine and Crisco in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium until smooth, about 2 minutes.

2. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on low speed about 2 minutes or until mixture is creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add remaining powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, and beat until frosting is creamy and fluffy about 2 minutes.

Baking and Assembling the Mini Cakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9×13 pans with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil and eggs on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until well blended. Scrape sides of the bowl and mix again until all the ingredients are incorporated.

3. Pour 1/2 the batter inside each of the prepared pans.

4. Bake cakes for 15-17 minutes each, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. Remove pans from the oven and place on wire cooling racks for 25-30 minutes to cool. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes, flip the pans over and gently extract the cakes. Let cool completely before decorating.

6. Make buttercream frosting while waiting for cakes to cool.

7. Color frosting in shades of your choice. Fill each decorating bag with icing, fitted with the variety of spring flower decorating tips.

8. After cakes have cooled, using circle cookie cutter cut 12 circles from each cake (or more depending on the size of your circle cutter).

9. Using the filled decorating bag fitted with a Wilton 2A tip, ice the tops of 6 cake circles.

10. As each circle is covered in icing, top with a cake circle. Repeat until you have stacked three cake circles on each.

11. To decorate the last and top of each mini cake, use a decorating bag fitted with a 1M tip. Holding your bag upright with the tip placed near the edge of the circle, begin squeezing the bag while applying equal pressure and swirling around in a clockwise motion, swirl around to create a rose.

12. Using decorating bag fitted with Wilton 104 tip and holding the wider side of the tip closer to the base of the cake top, draw a squiggly ruffle about an inch long next to the rose. Draw a second squiggled ruffle to layer over the first.

13. Using decorating bag fitted with a Wilton 2D tip holding your bag upright, squeeze bag and twist your wrist as you create a dot resembling a hydrangea. Dot 3 or 4 hydrangea petals on the cake.

14. Finish mini cakes using your bag fitted with a Wilton 18 star tip. Holding your bag upright, squeeze icing using even pressure as you pull up to create a raised star. Fill in any holes in your cake tops with raised stars.

15. Using a flat cookie spatula, move mini cakes to desired serving tray or pedestal.

The best part about these mini flower cakes is you can color the icing to coordinate any event or party!  Display them on a beautiful raised cake pedestal or serve as individual desserts at a dinner party.  Your guests will love them!

Pin this idea for later!

 

Photos by Kelly Clare Photography

Original project made for Jo-Ann Creative Spark blog in partnership with Jo-Ann Craft and Fabric Stores.