Make St. Patrick's Day Cake Treats
Revision as of 01:40, 12 January 2016 by Kipkis (Kipkis | contribs) (importing article from wikihow)
St. Patrick's Day deserves a good cake. In addition, there are a few amazing themes that you can come up with for this special celebration, by focusing on elements linked readily to St. Patrick's Day, such as the color green and pots of gold.
Contents
Ingredients
Shamrock (clover) cake
- Package of vanilla cake mix, regular
- Green food coloring, a few drops
- Nuts to taste (optional)
- Frosting or icing + green food coloring
Pot of gold cake
- Package of vanilla cake mix, regular
- Black-grey food coloring
- Gold (yellow) food coloring
Green velvet cupcakes
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
- 1 oz (30ml) green food coloring
- Frosting/icing
- Green sprinkles, green edible shamrocks, green sugar, etc. for decoration (craft or cake supply stores will have edible designs)
Green velvet cake pops
- As above for green velvet cupcakes, plus:
- Commercial cream cheese frosting, a scoopful
- White chocolate for melting (enough to cover the balls)
- Sprinkles (green, green and white, shamrock topping, etc. are all good choices)
Steps
- Set out the needed equipment or required materials out onto the work surface. Doing so allows you room to spread out the required materials without worrying about them falling, and permits you to avoid spilling liquids.
Shamrock (clover) cake
- Mix the cake mixture according to the package instructions.
- Add a few drops of green food coloring to change the mixture to green. Always add one at a time and mix through to test the color before adding more. You can make it greener but you can't remove the green color!
- Bake the cake according to the package instructions.
- While waiting for the cake to bake, make a clover shape template that is large enough for the cake size. This will be placed over the top of the baked cake and cut around to achieve the shamrock cake shape.
- Here is an image template for you to copy. Click on to enlarge.
- Remove from the oven when baked and allow cooling. Once cool, place the template over the top of the cake and cut out the shamrock (clover) shape.
- Frost or ice. Use green frosting or icing to cover the cake. It's best to also ice the sides after cutting, to remove rough edges.
- Allow to set. Serve as soon as possible.
Pot of gold cake
- Mix the package cake according to the package instructions.
- Add a few drops of the black-grey food coloring. As explained above, always add the least amount of drops, stir to mix, then assess the color before adding more.
- Pour the mixture into a cake pan. Bake according to the package instructions.
- While the cake is baking, make a template in the shape of a pot of gold. Keep it simple.
- Here is an image template for you to copy. Click on to enlarge.
- Remove the cake from the oven when baked and allow to cool. Once cool, place the template over the top of the cake and cut out the pot of gold shape.
- Frost or ice the cake. Use gold frosting or icing to cover the cake. It's best to also ice the sides after cutting, to remove rough edges.
- If you would like to use nuts, sprinkle these over the frosting (icing) on the cake.
- Sprinkle sugar on top of the gold frosting or icing. Use enough to look pretty.
Green velvet cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC.
- Prepare the muffin tin or cupcake pans. Either use cupcake papers or grease.
- Break the eggs into the mixing bowl. Whisk lightly.
- Pour the remaining liquid ingredients into the whisked egg mixture. Whisk to blend. Set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, pour the dry ingredients. Mix well to combine.
- Add the green food coloring to the wet mixture. Mix through.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly. If using an electric mixer, use medium-high but no higher, as the green mixture can stain if it lands anywhere.
- Pour the batter into the cupcake papers or muffin tin holes.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Frost. Use a frosting or icing that is green. Green cream cheese frosting is the best for these cupcakes.
- Decorate with green sugar, green sprinkles or green edible decorations, such as sugar shamrock shapes or little edible pots of gold.
Green velvet cake pops
- Make a green velvet cake using the recipe above. Pour into one cake pan rather than making cupcake though and bake about 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool, then proceed from this point.
- Make cake crumbs from the green velvet cake. Cut the cooled cake into small pieces. Either mash down with a fork or process into crumbs using the food processor.
- Add the scoopful of cream cheese frosting and process through.
- Take teaspoonful of the processed mixture and shape into little balls, using your hands.
- Melt the white chocolate. Add a dab of white chocolate to one end of the ball and attach the stick. It helps to add a little white chocolate to the end of the stick to. Repeat with each ball until all have a stick attached. Allow to set.
- Once set, dip each cake pop ball in chocolate.
- Coat with the sprinkles you've chosen for decoration. Once again, leave to set and then they're ready to enjoy.
- Use something like a piece of foam to stick the drying cake pop sticks into; or lay the ball itself on a tray covered in parchment paper till set. You can even buy cake pop stands if you make them often enough.
- Finished.
Tips
- Look for green chocolate for the cake pops if you want the whole cake ball to appear green.
- Clean the work surface with a non-toxic cleaning agent, and then wash your hands thoroughly. Doing so will help you keep the setting sanitary, because washing hands keeps any chemicals (toxic or non-toxic) from getting into your food.
- If you would like to improve the taste and texture of any package cake used above, mix the cake mix, but do not add sugar. Add a cup of applesauce into the mix, then add the sugar (less than the normal amount). Subtract the applesauce that was added from the sugar amount you would normally add.
Warnings
- Avoid using nuts if anyone has a nut allergy.
Things You'll Need
- Cake pans of a size suitable for the package cake and for cutting out the designs sought after
- Mixing bowls
- Mixing spoons
- Baking cooling rack
- Frosting/icing piping bag (optional but helpful)
- Fork, food processor for cake pops
- Small candy/pop sticks for cake pops
- Something to stand the drying cake pops in or on
Related Articles
- Make a Clover Into a Good Luck Charm
- Make a St. Patricks Day Badge
Sources and Citations
- Green velvet cakes adapted from http://www.lovefromtheoven.com/2011/03/03/green-velvet-cake-st-pattys-day-baking/ and green velvet cake pops adapted from http://www.lovefromtheoven.com/2011/03/07/green-velvet-cake-pops-more-st-pattys-day-baking-ideas/.
