The month of February is considered to be the romantic month as all the lovers plan their day of celebration. There is a single theme for this celebration. The lovers exchange gifts as token of true love. The red color is the specialty of the Day. ‘Red roses and Heart shapes are the symbols and designs that are mostly displayed. Restaurants and hotels play a special role in supporting the lovers’ day. They campaign with special offers to make the events and the celebration special and more memorable one. The most attractive feature is even the food you order will have designs of roses, hearts. The goddess of love, ‘Cupid’ takes the full liberation in wrapping the lovers to a highly indulged romantic mood and surroundings.
One major attraction of the Valentine’s Day is the Cake. The confectioneries design the most wonderful cake with mouth-watering tastes. Ordering these cakes for the ‘Day’ with your loved one would make a wonderful night/evening. A cake cutting beside your valentine is sweeter than the cake itself. One can celebrate the Valentine day in their home too. A balcony or a dining room can be converted to a special romantic place to celebrate the day. The special arrangements that you make along with the cake that you make is “Cupcake bouquet.” The preparation details:
Cupcake bouquet
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
- Plain Flour – 200 gm
- Baking Powder – 2 tsps
- Caster sugar – 200 gm
- Salt – ½ tsp
- Butter – 100 gm
- 3 eggs
- 150 ml milk
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsps double cream
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- Coloring paste
- 600 g icing sugar
- 100 g buttercream icing, fuchsia
- 25 g royal icing
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g buttercream icing
- 100 g buttercream icing, pale pink
- Pasteurized egg whites,
- 2 tsps glycerine
- Icing sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Albumen powder mixed with water
- A large flower drop nozzle
- Polystyrene ball
- Plain round nozzle
- Ceramic flowerpot, about 12.5 cm wide
- Decorative ribbon
Method
First, you need to preheat the oven to 180 c/350. Mix the salt, caster sugar, butter, baking powder and flour in a bowl until it resembles the fine breadcrumbs. The eggs, milk and vanilla has to be whisked till it puffs. Mix it slowly with the dried ingredients to make a smooth batter. Spoon each cup with the batter. Bake for 20 -25 minutes. Allow the cake to cool.
Decoration
Mix cream, butter, vanilla, icing sugar. Beat the cream until it is fluffy. Divide into 3 portions. Color one with pink, another with fuchsia by adding the coloring paste little by little. The icing should be firm as well as soft to pipe.
Decorate the cupcake with a little icing. The piping bag should have a flower drop tip/nozzle. Then, with light pressure swirl the piping bag until it is covered with rose. Repeat the same for others as well. Use all the three color icing to make different roses. Let it set for about 4 to 5 minutes.
In order to make the royal icing, you need to whisk the egg whites and sugar until it is foamy. Stir it with lemon juice, glycerin and beat until is stiff and thick with peaks forms.
Arrangements
The polystyrene ball should be placed in the flowerpot. Press in six cocktail sticks with 9cm apart. Spread the royal icing on the cupcake case and then on the cocktail stick. Hold it for 30 seconds and repeat the same with other cakes too. Wrap the flowerpot and tie a ribbon in a bow. Arrange the remaining cupcakes around the flowerpot –Cupcake Bouquet is ready to serve!
Recipes of India | Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian 