Cacti Cupcakes & Cake Boss #MichaelsMakers

Hey friends!  I don't know about you, but it's been oppressively hot here in Pittsburgh lately. Yesterday when I got in my car after work, it told me it was 99 degrees outside.  I live in Pennsylvania... it is NOT supposed to be that hot here!

When Michaels offered the chance to try out some Cake Boss products, I knew exactly what I'd do... Cacti!  Because right now, I feel like I live in the desert.  Only worse.  Because... humidity. Anyway, I decided to fashion my own little desert scene using Cake Boss fondant.

I've never used fondant before, in fact, I was slightly terrified of it.  But, once I started working with it, I realized how much FUN it is!  Seriously, it's like edible playdough.  I got my niece, Lena, in on the action, too.  She's five and had an absolute blast.  If you want to avoid the sloppy mess of traditional frosting while baking with your kids... throw them a lump of fondant and let them sculpt something fabulous.

Michaels offers an amazing variety of Cake Boss products including the actual cake mix!  I was able to get everything I needed to create these little delicious treats in one trip.  (well, aside from the eggs and oil.)  My favorite purchase of all this was the Fondant Decorating Tool Kit.  I mean, you can use this for countless other things... So, don't be surprised if you see those popping up in a few other posts that have nothing to do with baking!

After baking the cupcakes and allowing them to cool, we frosted them with chocolate icing so the fondant had something to stick to.  Next, we used this neat vintage cookie cutter I found hidden in the back of my mom's cabinet.  It was the perfect size and shape!  After they were cut, we pressed them lightly onto the frosting.

Next, we molded our little cacti.  This was kind of a "wing it" sort of thing.  The neon green decorating icing in a bag was perfect for adding texture to our cacti, and also perfect for using as the "glue" to keep the cacti in place.  We also used it as a sort of "paint" to coat the white fondant.

Then we made little flowers to stick on top of our cacti...

And TA-DA!  I looooooooooooooove the final result.  Aren't these colors fantastic?  They're so bright and saturated.  I love that you can buy tiny packets of the bright colors so you can use it just for accents.  Definitely smart packaging, Cake Boss!

The best part of these products is how great they are to use when working with kids.  Clean up was quick and there was little frustration in the process because everything is prepared so well.

I absolutely adored getting to share some creative time with this little bug.  I love watching her mind work and her artistic side growing as she gets older.

Macarons & Springtime In Paris Challenge

Macarons.  Those amazing pastries we all know and love. They're beautiful, mysterious, and tantalizing.  They are also a pain in the butt to make.  Fortunately, Michael's carries a line of goodies specifically for those of us with enough bravery to give these babies a shot ourselves.  Mastrad Paris offers a nifty silicon baking sheet with templates and guides for piping your meringue, and a cookbook with incredibly detailed instructions.  

When we were challenged with creating something Parisian themed this month, our minds immediately snapped to macarons.  We are fortunate enough to have sever french patisseries nearby in Pittsburgh with unbelievably divine macarons, but, of course, they are quite costly.  Why not try to get the goodness on our own?

I won't be posting a recipe here because, honestly, it's entirely too complex and you really do need the entire book to  help you.  I used cocoa powder to flavor the meringues and a Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce for the filling.  It was heavenly!  I took a few photos of the process... which take a lot of patience and a lot of focus.    

My macarons did not turn out perfect by any means, but at least my meringues didn't crack!  I did a little happy dance when I opened the oven and saw these tiny little beautiful pastries.  I definitely recommend giving these products a shot.  But, beware, practice makes perfect!  You most likely will not get it totally right on the first try.  Hang in there, though.  When you do get it right, it feels SO good!

Now it’s your turn!  That’s right, you can enter to win the trip of a lifetime to Paris too. How? By creating your own Parisian-inspired art, floral, baking or paper crafting project and uploading a photo to https://paris.michaels.com/ through March 31. You can also share your project on social using #SpringtimeInParis #Contest.

What do you win? A four-night trip for two to Paris, 1,000 euros, a VIP tour of the Louvre, private classes including sketching, floral arranging, baking and more!

If you need a little Paris inspiration to get you started, take a look at some of the Springtime in Paris projects on Michaels.com.

Good luck!!

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