Today we’re spreading our wings and soaring straight into a magical land of wonder.  One filled with flowers and toadstools and whimsical fun.  Where fluttering fairies peek around every corner and natural beauty is abundant.  Created by Yeni Monroy and her team at Dream Day Cakes®, today’s cake is a gorgeous meadow where enchanting creatures fly free… and so does the pixie dust!  Let’s take a look at this charming Fairy Birthday Cake!

Green topsy turvy tiers create a lush hillside suitable for our fluttering fairies.  A stone pathway winds up the side of the cake and leads us to a home constructed of twigs and leaves.  A pixie home that is seriously just too precious for words.  Amidst all the whimsical fun is an arrangement of flowers and twigs, aligning just right to spell the birthday girl’s name.  Aidan.  It’s an incredible scene full of fairy treasures!

Fred from Dream Day Cakes shares the scoop on this design:

“This three-tiered cake features fairies in their natural habitat– among the grass, twigs, and natural wonder of the woods. The setting could be any backyard; so those kids need to be careful when playing outside this summer.

The top tier of the cake focuses on the fairy home. Most likely constructed from an old branch and then covered with leaves. To recreate this home, we used fondant covered cake and then fondant leaves.”

More from Fred at Dream Day Cakes:

“The middle tier shows fairies frolicking near some steps to the next tier.  The fairies, steps, twigs, flowers, swirls, and mushrooms were all made with fondant.  The grass was hand-painted on the cake.  Two fairies are on this tier; one with her wand.”

More from Fred at Dream Day Cakes:

“The bottom tier show more natural elements as well as spelling the birthday girl’s name in sugar flowers. Fondant steps continue to the cake board where the birthday girl’s age has been formed with fondant buttons. A butterfly rests while a non-edible Tinkerbell looks on.

We like combining the sugar art with non-edible toys for children of this age.”

I am a huge fan of ‘character cakes’ that are inspired by the character rather than a literal interpretation.  And this cake is the perfect example of how showcase Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies in magical birthday cake!  All of the incredible details make this an enchanted meadow worth celebrating.

A very special thank you to Yeni and Fred at Dream Day Cakes® for sharing this delightful Fairy Birthday Cake with us today!

VENDORS & CREDITS
Cake : Dream Day Cakes®

I absolutely love this time of year when the sweet crops of summer start to appear. I’ve partnered up with Domino Sugar to bring you a new cupcake recipe featuring one of my favorite summer berries.

I’ve never met a fresh berry that I didn’t like.  Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries.  You name it, I’m in.  Deliciously sweet on their own or jazzed up with a little hint of sugar and mint.  OR… baked up into a hot, bubbly, berry cobbler… now we’re really talking berries!

I have fond childhood memories of my mom’s blackberry cobbler.  A cobbler that started with wild blackberries, picked in a local field. Which honestly, is a concept I can’t even imagine now as an adult.  Picking wild blackberries!  There’s certainly no field of wild blackberries anywhere near my suburbia home.  And if there was, I would have a million questions about these so-called wild berries.  Did they belong to a local farmer?  Were they safe to eat?  Were they actually blackberries?  Nevertheless, it is a blissful childhood memory. One that I won’t let my logical, adult mind over analyze and ruin.

What started with fresh picked blackberries ended in a bowl of warm cobbler, topped with vanilla ice cream or a swirl of whipped cream.  Ah, the sweet taste of summer.  Even though today’s recipe starts with a basket of berries from the market, it captures the same goodness as that bubbly cobbler.  Fresh blackberries.  A hint of orange. And a thick crumble topping.  Some might call it more of a crisp or a streusel topping topping than a cobbler topping.  I’ll just call it delicious.  Delicious Blackberry Cobbler Cupcakes!

BLACKBERRY COBBLER CUPCAKES
a recipe by Carrie Sellman
{makes 24 cupcakes}

3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange
1 cup whole milk
1 cup blackberries

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line two muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soad and salt. Set aside.
3. Gently toss blackberries with a light coating of flour.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high using the paddle attachment.  Beat until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
5. With the mixer on low, add eggs one at a time.  Mixing well after each egg.
6. Add vanilla and orange zest.  Mix to combine.
7. Add one third of your dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined.
8. Add one half of your milk.  Mix gently.
9. Add in remaining ingredients, alternating dry, wet, dry.  Do not over mix.
10. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full with batter.  Top each cupcake with 2 to 3 blackberries.
11. Bake 17-19 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For the Blackberry Glaze
12 ounces blackberries
2 tablespoons sugar
zest and juice of 1 orange

Combine blackberries, sugar, orange juice and zest in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries start to burst.  Cool slightly.  Pour into blender and puree until smooth.  Pour through a mesh strainer into a bowl to remove any little bits.  Cover and store sauce in refrigerator until ready to use.  This can be made several days in advance.

For the Cobbler Crumble Topping
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt and butter.  Pulse until the crumbs are fine.
3. Spread into a thin layer on the baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Remove pan from oven and flip, stir crumble topping with a spatula.  Break up any large clumps.
5. Bake again for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir.  Bake an additional 5 – 10 minutes until golden brown.
6. Let cool completely.  This can be made a day in advance and stored in an airtight container until ready to use.

To Assemble the Cupcake

Spoon roughly 1 tablespoon of blackberry glaze onto each cupcake.  Spreading it over the top with the back of your spoon.  Sprinkle with cobbler crumbs to coat.  Finish with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  I personally went for a swirl of vanilla buttercream frosting.

TIP #1:  This recipe involves several steps.  If you’re short on time or have an impatient toddler (a-hem, I mean helpful little baking buddy) break it up and make the blackberry glaze and crumble topping a day in advance.  Both keep well.  Store the glaze in the refrigerator and the crumble topping in an airtight container on the counter.

TIP #2: And if you need to transport these cupcakes, make sure to give them ample time to set up before hitting the road.  They will become more stable as the blackberry glaze sets into the cupcake.  Although skeptical, Mr. Sellman successfully made it to work with these cupcakes in tow.  And that’s really saying something… with his love of lane changes.  And rush hour traffic.

TIP #3:  Forks are highly encouraged.

I hope you enjoy my Blackberry Cobbler Cupcake Recipe!  Brought to you by Domino Sugar.

	Carrie Sellman is the Founder & Editor of The Cake Blog. Her work has been published in BRIDES Magazine and featured on TLC, DIY Network, The Cooking Channel, Glamour and more. Read more about Carrie on her bio page.

Our contributor, Miso of Miso Bakes, is here with a new tutorial just in time for Father’s Day

Father’s Day is this weekend and I have a really simple and easy cake design to share with all of you…  a Mustache & Bowtie Cake!

BOWTIE & MUSTACHE CAKE
a DIY by Miso Bakes

Supplies

• Cakes baked and covered in buttercream or fondant, depending on preference
• Black (or color of choice) gumpaste for mustache
• Colored fondant of choice for bowties
• Template of mustache drawn or downloaded and printed onto cardstock
• Exacto knife
• Water
• 2 toothpicks or skewers

Mustache Topper (make at least 1 day ahead)

STEP 1:  Draw, or download and print, a mustache onto thick cardstock.  Cut using scissors.

STEP 2:  Roll out black (or color of choice) gumpaste, place template on top, and trace using an exacto knife.  (Tip: It helps to smear a very thin layer of shortening on the surface of gumpaste before placing template on top.  It prevents it from sliding around.)

STEP 3:  Carefully peel away the scraps and insert toothpicks. Let it dry completely.

Bowties (can be made day of or in advance)

STEP 4:  Roll fondant out and cut out a rectangle.

STEP 5:  Gather the center and pinch to hold shape. Cut out a small strip of fondant as wide as the gathered point. (Picture 4)

STEP 6:  Wrap the strip around the point and adhere with water.

STEP 7:  Let bow sit for a few minutes so it firms up and holds its shape before adhering to cake. At this point, you may make more bowties.

To Complete Cake:

STEP 8:  Carefully insert mustache topper to top of cake.

STEP 9:  To adhere bowties to fondant covered cakes, use a bit of water. For buttercream cakes, gently place bowties in place.

Yay! You have completed your cake!  Extremely simple, right?  I think this would also make a cute birthday cake!

This cake may be easily customized to your liking.  For example, if you think it is too simple the way it is, you may add suspenders!

This was achieved by gluing two strips of fondant onto the cake. The buckles were made of four strips of gumpaste glued together to form a rectangle and then painted with a mixture of gold luster dust and vodka. Simple!

Happy Caking and Happy Father’s Day!

	Miso Bakes Miso is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a talented pastry chef with a big passion for cakes. Read more about Miso on her bio page.