Pinwheel Party

 Welcome to my table scape of shattered dreams. I had such big plans for my Mom's 50th birthday party. I made a big pinwheel backdrop to hang above my white console table which would have held all my desserts and a cute banner underneath that. I had giant pinwheels I had made to stick in the grass on both sides of the dessert table.

Unfortunately I hadn't counted on the dirt being rock hard or the massive winds that ripped down my back drop each time we tried to hang it. So sad. Here is how it turned out anyway:

 Pinwheel Birthday Cake

 Mini Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

 I found these cute mini forks at Hobby Lobby.

Hand Painted fondant wafers to top the cupcakes.

 Mint Chocolate Cake Pops

I So wish this would have worked out. This bent in half mess of paper would have been really cute hanging above my white dessert table but the wind kept ripping it down.

Please notice the banner that was meant to hang under the desserts. It was supposed to read 'CELEBRATE', but we lost the R somewhere along the way and so now it just says 'CELEBATE'.

Epic Fail.

Baby Strawberry Shortcakes

 Aren't these darling? I feel like such a lady when I have these on my plate. Throw in a cup of tea and call me Kate Middleton. Ha. Just kidding. But really, these are such a dainty little dessert, great for dessert tables or tea parties. I made these for my little sister's bridal shower and they were a hit. And their tiny size is great when you have many other desserts to choose from.

The only problem was that that evening I found myself eating about 10 mini shortcakes clumped together on a plate topped with a tower of strawberries and whipped cream.

Note to self: Mini shortcakes are for parties and not for an 11 pm sugar-fest. I should have just made myself one big shortcake when I was baking.

 

Ingredients: 

 

• 2 C. All-purpose Flour
• ¼ C. Granulated Sugar, divided
• 1 T. baking powder
• ½ t. salt
• ½ C. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 2/3 C. Heavy Cream or Half and Half
• 1½ C. Sweetened whipped cream(Stabilized works well for this dessert)
•  12 Large Strawberries
• Powdered Sugar, for dusting

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
2. Place flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
3. With the processor running, Drop in the cubed butter piece by piece and process until just combined and forming small crumbs.
4. Drizzle the cream into processor through top while processor is running and process until dough JUST comes together.
5. Place dough on floured work surface and pat dough to form a rectangle about 1-inch in thickness.
6. Cut dough into rounds about 1-inch in diameter with a cookie cutter. Reform dough as necessary with scraps being careful not to overwork dough and re-cut into rounds.
7. Place cut dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake shortcakes for about 8-12 minutes or until tops are just turning slightly brown. Cool on a wire rack. While the cakes are baking, cut both ends off of each strawberry. Slice each trimmed strawberry horizontally into 3 slices and place in a bowl. Sprinkle the remaining 2 T. sugar over the strawberries and toss to coat. Set aside.
8. To assemble, cut shortcakes in half horizontally. Pipe a dollop of whipped cream onto bottom round, top with a strawberry slice, pipe with one more mound of whipped cream and cover with the shortcake top. Dust powdered sugar over the tops before serving.

Makes about 36 baby shortcakes.

 Oh, and maybe form yourself one larger shortcake before you bake the dough. It may come in handy.

Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies

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