Who says you need to spend a lot to get a really cute dessert! I have found ways to dress up even the simplest things for inexpensive but adorable results that are sure to wow your dinner guests!
1. Cake
I bought a box of vanilla Betty Crocker cake mix and 2 vanilla frostings. My little trick is to cut out 2 pieces of cardboard, or any paper that is stiff enough into the shape I want my cake, in this case small circles. After baking the cake, I cut the top off to make sure it’s even. Then I take one of my cut out circles and place it on top of the cake and using a small knife cut around it. I did this three times. Next, I put one circle cake onto one of the cardboard pieces turning it upside down because the bottom from the flat surface of the baking pan is always more even than the top, even after you cut it which makes for easier frosting. Next, I put the 2nd circle piece of cake bottom down on the other piece of cardboard and then put frosting on top and add the 3rd piece of cake bottom facing up. The frosting will stick the cakes together. In these pics I made 2 cakes different sizes, but you can get creative and make whatever heights and sizes you want.
Now for the fun part, the decorating! I mixed a drop or two of pink/red food coloring in a bowl with vanilla frosting. I used this to frost both cakes. Next in two separate bowls I added 3-4 drops of pink/red for a darker pink and in the other bowl mixed a few drops of green and a drop of blue coloring. Be sure to start very slowly with the coloring because trust me a little goes a long way! After frosting both cakes in light pink I put the green and darker pink both in frosting bags with frosting tips. You can also use a Ziplock bag if you don’t have frosting bags. Just cut a small piece of the corner off, the frosting tip will go in here. Make sure to put the frosting tip in before you put the frosting in.
Now that the cakes are frosted with the base color, using a spatula move the cakes onto your dessert or serving plates. On one cake I chopped up pecans and placed them all around the sides. This is a nice trick when you can’t get your frosting super smooth which I always have a hard time with. On my smaller cake I used my green frosting bag and put frosting in a cute design all around the bottom, sides and around the top edge of the cake. On my taller cake, using my dark pink frosting bag I went around the bottom of the cake and the top.
Next I dressed my cakes up with raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. You can have a lot of fun with this and make cool designs. Get creative! I finished my cakes up with a few roses from my yard and a little powdered sugar using a sifter.
2. Tarts
This is so easy and literally takes under 10 minutes. I bought a pack of 4 mini pie crusts and a box of Jello Instant Custard Mix, you can also use pre-made custard. Put the custard in the pie crusts and add whatever fruit you like on top of the custard. I used my favorites raspberries and blackberries. Next move the tarts to dessert plates. I added some slices strawberries and roses to garnish around the plate. Last but not least, sprinkled powdered sugar!
3. Bite Size Desserts
Sometimes you just don’t even have 5 minutes to spend on dessert, or maybe you had guests pop by last minute. Here is a fun way to turn very inexpensive sweets into something special, and in no time at all. On a serving tray use whatever you may have lying around the house, in this case I used bite sized brownies and Madelines. I put them on a serving tray in a cute pattern rotating the two. Next I added some raspberries and blackberries to garnish. Lastly I finished it up with a few pretty roses and some powdered sugar. Takes under 5 minutes and is so cute!
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