Drop of Disney

Happy Saturday! It’s first day of February and we’re getting ready for Valentine’s Day! This year, I was inspired by the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and I’m excited to share these Painting the Roses Red Cakes! These vanilla cakes have vanilla buttercream frosting and are topped with sweet shredded coconut and rose shaped decorations.

Alice in Wonderland has so many memorable characters and all of the Valentine’s Day hearts made me think of the Queen of Hearts. One of my favorite scenes is when the card soldiers are painting all of the white roses red and so these cakes are inspired by that!

To make these cakes, first combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bow. Then, in a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add in the egg, egg white, and vanilla, beating until blended.

On low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture, one third at a time, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. To make the shape of a rose bush, I used Wilton’s Mini Wonder Mold pans.

Divide batter among the wells in the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pan, then release the cakes from pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

While the cakes are cooling, dye the shredded coconut by placing one cup of it into a large Ziploc bag. Combine 1/2 teaspoon of water with a few drops of green gel food coloring in a small bowl. I used the Leaf Green color from Ann Clark’s Gel Food Coloring Set. Pour the green water mixture into the Ziploc bag and shake until the coconut is fully coated. Set aside until ready to decorate.

Then, make the frosting, by beating the butter and vanilla until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and milk and beat until combined. Add a few drops of green gel food coloring and beat the frosting on high speed until fluffy. Use an offset spatula to frost the outside of the cakes. Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag.

Finally, use your hands to press the shredded coconut all around the cakes so that each cake is fully covered. Next, add the roses to the bushes. For my roses, I used white and red rose icing decorations from Michaels. I saved four of the white roses and used red gel food coloring to paint them partially red. To attach the roses to the cakes, pipe a small amount of the green frosting onto the back of the decorations and gently press them onto the cake. I used four decorations per cake.

Once assembled, enjoy these Painting the Roses Red Cakes! Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!

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Painting the Roses Red Cakes

Inspired by the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, these Painting the Roses Red Cakes are a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, sweet shredded coconut and rose shaped decorations!

Course Dessert

Keyword Alice in Wonderland, Valentine

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4 mini cakes

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup milk

Vanilla Buttercream

• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• green gel food coloring

Decoration

• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• ½ teaspoon water
• green gel food coloring
• white and red rose shaped icing decorations
• red gel food coloring

Equipment

• Wilton Mini Wonder Mold
• offset spatula
• piping bag
• large Ziploc bag

Instructions

Vanilla Cakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the cake molds with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in the egg, egg white, and vanilla; beat until blended.
5. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture, one third at a time, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour.
6. Divide batter among the cake molds and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pan then unmold the cakes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Coconut Decoration

1. Place the shredded coconut into a large Ziploc bag.
2. Combine the water and a few drops of green gel food coloring in a small bowl.
3. Pour the green water mixture into the Ziploc bag and shake until the coconut is fully coated.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and vanilla until smooth.
2. Add the powdered sugar and milk and beat until combined.
3. Add a few drops of green gel food coloring and beat on high speed until fluffy.

Assembly

1. Use an offset spatula to frost the outsides of each of the cakes. Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag.
2. Use your hands to press the shredded coconut into the frosting on the outside of the cakes. Fully coat each cake in coconut.
3. Pipe a dab of green icing onto the backs of the rose decorations. Gently press four decorations onto each cake.
4. If desired, use some red gel food coloring to paint some of the white roses so that they’re a half white and half red.