May Cake Club: Flower Pots and Cookie Flowers

I wanted to quickly share this month's take home project from cake club.  We made these adorable little flower pots with cookie flowers, a perfect project for spring.  

Chloé started waking up just as we started the project at last night's meeting.  Lucky for me, one of the members, Stephanie, offered to hold Chloé for me while I made this.  Sweeeet!!  There's no saying no to an offer from someone else to hold your baby...

I didn't finish decorating my flower pot with cute little fondant cut-outs.  I didn't have time last night and, quite frankly, just couldn't be bothered getting everything back out again once I got home.  

Annnnd... the whole thing toppled over when I was setting it up, requiring me to re-decorate the cookie... which is part of why it looks so messy (the other part is just me being a beginner and all).  And that's also why the bottom is all smushed in.  

Pluuuuuus, the spearmint candy leaves fell off on the way home without me noticing - guess I didn't heed my own advice about being careful when transporting cakes.  

But here's a peek at what they should sort of look like:

The flower pots were a little cupcake made in a flower pot baking mold.  However, they mentioned that if you don't have such a mold (and I'm sure not many people do) that you can either trim cupcakes to a pot shape or can buy clay flower pots at the dollar store to cook them in (once they're washed and sprayed).

Supplies:

flower pot shaped cupcakes, made using your favourite cupcake recipe
cupcake boards
flower-shaped sugar cookies (see recipe below)
sticks to attach to back of cookies
coloured icing to decorate cookies, plus white buttercream
cut straws
white and coloured fondant and small cutters
chocolate cookie crumbs (such as Oreo crumbs) 
spearmint leaf candies

To make flower pots:

Cover sides of cake pot with buttercream. Measure pot from bottom to pot rim.  Roll out a long strip of fondant.  Trim to proper height and measure enough width to wrap around pot.  Cut off excess.  Seal and smooth back seam.  Using knife or angled spatula, tuck fondant in at bottom of pot to give a smooth finish.

Roll out strip of coloured fondant about 1/2 inch wide and long enough to wrap around top of pot.  It should stick up about 1/4 inch above the white fondant.  Attach with water and match seams in the back.  Decorate pot with patterns, dots, cutouts, etc.
Attach pot to board with a little icing.  Put a thin layer or icing on the rounded top part of the cake.  Gently sprinkle a layer of chocolate crumbs to cover (not too thick - they will sit in the top fondant wall of the pot).

Sugar cookie recipe:

2 eggs
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C oil
1/4 C orange juice or water
2 tsp. baking powder
3 C flour

In food processor, process eggs with sugar, oil and juice until blended.  Add baking powder and flour and process until just mixed.

Divide dough into 4 pieces.  Roll out on a floured board 1/8 inch thick.  Cut out flowers.  Place stick into cookie and press down gently.  Bake at 375 degrees Farenheit for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. 

Decorate sugar cookie with icing in desired pattern.  Cut spearmint leaf in half.  Cut piece of straw the same height as the cupcake.  Place stick into straw and place cookie into pot.  Position leaf halves on stick near the bottom to balance it.

 

Note:  If your flower seems to tumble over as mine did, you can use royal icing to solidify the base of the cake to the cake board and/or trim the height of the stick.


Happy Spring everyone!!  Do you have any favourite spring recipes you'd like to share?

Difficulty level: difficult