Rose Cake and Rose Cupcakes

You know how some days certain things just don't go your way?  Or how something you've done before just doesn't turn out the same way?  I had one of those days today.  On Mother's day of all days.  Urgh.  My husband's sweet Grandmother, Lena turned 90 this week and we celebrated it today with almost 40 of her family and friends.  I was in charge of the birthday cake and cupcakes.  Something that I enjoy doing.  I used the "white wedding cake" recipe I blogged about here!  It's a GREAT recipe and is fool proof. I promise!  Believe me if it COULD have gone wrong with this cake it would have but in the end the CAKE part of the cake and cupcakes was yummy. Moist and delicious! TRY this recipe!  Before I tell you about my catastrophe and tell you how I "think"  (man, I'm using a lot of " " in today's post!) you can avoid it, I'll share some other info about the process.

I wanted to go with a very feminine look and I found these PERFECT pale pink pearls by Wilton and also this lovely itty bitty edible rose colored, heart shaped glitter.  Remember that Ghirardelli Fudge Cake I had at our Velata party last week?  I never showed you how I made those cool chocolate swirls and chocolate leaves.  It's this AWESOME Wilton chocolate mold that I'm in love with that makes them!

I added just a few pink pieces of my candy coating to a bunch of white candy coating to get this super pale pink.  The color turned out great and the kids decided on which shape this time.  I can't wait to use the triangle or the zig zags!  These are an easy addition to your cupcakes, cakes or desserts and they have a big visual impact!  A pile of the triangles in dark chocolate would look so cool on a cheesecake!


About the frosting..  On some of the more "designer" looking cupcakes with the big dollop of frosting piled high in the middle but a rim of cake showing around the outside, the cake can become dry if made too early for your event.  I can solve that problem for you...DELICIOUSLY!  The KEY to this and to a wonderfully moist cake is a buttermilk glaze that I use to seal in the moistness.  It is an EXTRA step and I don't do it for every cake or cupcake recipe but there are some cakes like my carrot cake that wouldn't be the same without it!  I'm going to share the recipe with you but first here is what the cupcakes look like after glazing.  I'll put the recipe at the bottom of the post.

Before you frost a cake, it's best to seal in the crumbs with a CRUMB COAT, a thin layer of frosting that locks in the crumbs and the moisture before you actually frost the cake.  You let this layer set until it has a thin crust.  Here is a BIG tip I realized after THIS cake.  If you are making the rose cake you will want to actually frost the cake with a very thin layer of frosting BEFORE you put the roses on. Invariably you are going to have holes between the roses and you won't need to fill them in as much IF you can't see the cake underneath.  If you have white frosting and white roses it will all blend.  Or whatever color you are making the roses.  I didn't do this and I definitely WILL the next time I make the rose cake.  By the way, you need a 1M tip to make the roses on the cake and on the cupcakes.  This is a LARGE tip and I don't use a coupler, I just throw it into my 18" pastry bag.

 This was the first time I made the rose topped cupcake and I definitely will do them again. They were so easy and quick and are great if you don't LOVE a boat load of frosting on your cupcake.  It's the perfect proportion!

Frankly, my cake this time was a DISASTER!  I used a decorators buttercream frosting (half shortening, half butter because shortening holds up better in warm weather) but it was still too hot and humid here in Maryland for my cake.  Within about 15 minutes the roses on the side of the cake started sliding to the bottom.  I'm even embarrassed to show you the photos!  You will notice the roses at the bottom of the cake have a flat bottom in the photos.  They didn't start out that way! LOL  I'm including a photo of the last rose cake I did so you can see a better example although I will next time frost it so I don't have to "fill in" as much as I did.

Back to the disaster, by the time we got to the restaurant (after going to church and leaving the cake in the car) the frosting had totally separated from the sides of the cake!  At least the top was still pretty! LOL  Positive thoughts!  It was only about 74 degrees at this point but I'm guessing it was just still too humid and warm.  Next time I will make an all shortening buttercream if I have to take the cake somewhere.  Ideally, make this cake for an event you are celebrating at HOME!  It doesn't travel well!  The cupcakes survived beautifully, even the "chocolate" swirls on top were fine.  I hope you found this helpful and maybe someone can learn from my mistakes!  In the end Nana had a delightful day and THAT is all that matters!~
Some other cupcake posts that may interest you:
~Fat Free Fluffy Meringue Frosted Cupcakes
~Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes
~White Wedding Cake Cupcakes
Buttermilk Glaze
1       cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2    cup buttermilk
1/2    cup butter
1        Tbl. light corn syrup
1         tsp. vanilla extract
Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a tall heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Boil 4 minutes, stirring constantly until glaze is golden.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Cool slightly.