WE'VE MOVED

Hello!

Thank you for the amazing 8 years here at A Baked Creation, we can't thank you enough for the memories! But we've decided to move over to a new site - Sincerely, Syl. Please join us there for future posts on all the things you loved here!

Sincerely,
Syl
Showing posts with label hedgehog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hedgehog. Show all posts

Friday, June 19, 2009

How: Hedgehog Cupcake Set

How to make our little Hedgehog Cupcake Set!
  1. Bake 9 cupcakes of your choice. You can do 12 or any number, but we think that the square-shaped setup is cute.
  2. Gather some tools. Here, in the photo below we have: some brown jimmies/sprinkles, a stitching tool, a circle shape cutter, a veining tool, a tiny heart cutter, and leaf cutter. Not pictured, but will be needed are: rolled fondant, a roller, gel paste, toothpicks, a utility knife, a tiny circle cutter, and a practice mat.

  3. Let your cupcakes cool. Make some buttercream or frosting of your choice. Dab a good amount onto your cupcake.

  4. Using a metal spatula, smooth out the buttercream into a flat or dome shape. It doesn't have to be perfect, since it will be covered and smoothed again with fondant.
    This will do!

  5. Next, using your gel paste, dye a small ball of fondant green, a large ball of fondant sky blue, another small piece of fondant red, a medium sized piece brown, and a tiny piece dark brown.
    Note: To dye fondant, you simply use a clean toothpick, dab it in the gel and then poke it into the fondant. Never double dip your toothpick into the gel. Always use a clean one. Next, you knead the fondant until the colour is consistent throughout. If you happen to have pre-coloured fondant, that is even easier and this part is basically done for you!
  6. Roll the green fondant onto your practice board (or workspace). Cut out 7 little leaves. Imprint a simple line through the leaf with the veining tool.

  7. Roll the red fondant and cut out 2 tiny hearts and 2 tiny circles. Use the veining tool to create a dimple at the top and bottom of the circles so that they resemble apples. Then, I pushed a brown sprinkle into the fondant to create the apple stem.

  8. Roll out the brown fondant and using your utility knife, cut out 2 hedgehogs. I know this part is the trickiest part because it is hard to freehand shapes. Especially on soft fondant. I find that it becomes easier to work with if you let the fondant harden for a tiny bit, but not too hard that it crumbles! Don't forget to add the tiny fondant legs! I took tiny pieces of fondant and rolled them into small cylinder shapes.
  9. Find a small brown sprinkle and use that for the hedgehog's eye. I simply push it in, embedding the sprinkle into the fondant.

  10. Using the thinner side of the veining tool, softly press little dashes onto the hedgehog's body. This will create the spines. Let all the decorations sit on icing sugar to dry.
  11. Next, roll the blue fondant and cut out 9 circles.
  12. Using the stitching tool, carefully create a "path" on the fondant. Watch your turns! Try to plan out your path so that they connect when placed in a set.

  13. Finally, attach all the leaves, apples, hearts, and hedgehogs onto the 9 blue circles. The last step is to place the decorated fondant pieces on top of your delicious cupcake!
Step back, and enjoy your handiwork!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Hedgehog Cupcakes

Tonight, we are having an early birthday celebration. You know what that calls for right???

Cupcakes!!!

It is actually Howard's dad's birthday tomorrow (but we celebrated last week) but his parents wanted to celebrate Howard's birthday tonight. Yes, we know we have a weird little schedule going on. 


So I decided I would make these cupcakes for both Howard and his dad. Howard really wants a pet hedgehog, but instead I made him little hedgehogs from fondant. *grin* Whereas, Howard's dad enjoys nature and hiking. So the cupcakes include hedgehogs, a few leaves for nature (oh how we miss those green leafy trees in Toronto), and a whimsical trail path.


This is also a great time to try another cupcake recipe!

Classic Chocolate Cupcakes
From Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse
(Makes about 12 cupcakes and a 6-inch cake)

1/2 cup of milk
3/4 cup of milk
1 cup of brown sugar
3 ounces of chopped unsweetened chocolate
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of granulate sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 large egg white
2 cups of cake flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have your cupcake liners ready in the pan. Make sure you have all the ingredients ready as well.
  2. Using a double boiler, whisk the 1/2 cup of milk, brown sugar, and chocolate. When the chocolate has melted, whisk in the egg yolk. Then remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Mix the butter and sugar together. Slowly add in the eggs and egg white.
  4. Sift together the cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients alternatively with the 3/4 cup of milk and vanilla extract.
  5. Finally, stir in the chocolate mixture into the batter until combined.
  6. Fill cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Bake the 6-inch cake for 50-55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

The cupcakes are extremely soft and fluffy. When I was putting in the cake tester it took no effort at all! After cooling for 10 minutes, I couldn't wait any longer and tried one. They were so good! Very light with a slightly crunchy top. I think I will try their Devil's Food cupcakes next time for a heavier chocolate taste. After baking these, the whole house smelled like cake, constantly tempting me to snack. These lovely cupcakes were then covered with caramel and a smooth layer of fondant was placed on top along with the decorations.

Happy little hedgehog! What should we name her/him?