A place to exchange ideas, encouragement and fabulous finds for the home, family, fashion, food and fun...
Pages
▼
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Crafty (and cheap) cake stands and a recipe for yummy Lemon Blossoms..
Yep, spring has sprung and Easter is a week away. I thought this week would be the perfect opportunity to share with you a delicious recipe for Lemon Blossoms from my Mom (and Paula Deen) that would be great for spring celebrations. I also wanted to share this quick and thrifty craft idea for cake stands that I just stumbled upon that would be great for you to display your sweet little treats...
If you take a real close look, I bet you can figure out what I used to make this cake stand...
You guessed it (or not), it's a dollar store ceramic bowl and plate that I glued with the AMAZING E6000 glue! Here's one made out of fun melamine ware that's everywhere right now.
I'm not sure what possessed me to flip over a bowl and glue a plate to it, but I can assure you, I have done MUCH stranger things. Thankfully, this time it worked out (husband rolls his eyes).. Of course now- yep, you guessed it, I can't stop making them (you are getting to know me so well)! Here's another one...
If I had more time, I would have done a 3-tiered treat stand and start with a large round platter on the bottom and work my way up with smaller bowls and plates. I also thought it would be fun to take a large serving tray and add two bowls underneath for stability (one on each side) to elevate a tray. I used a ice cream sundae glass cup with just a narrow lip and it held perfectly as well. Imagine the possibilities! Just make sure the bottom of the plate is flat. Some plates have raised circles, which makes it less secure.
I have made these cake stands with melamine, ceramics and glass and the E6000 glue (purchase at Lowes, Home Depot or Walmart) works astonishingly well. I tried everything I could to pull the glass ones apart and they didn't budge! Be sure and allow at least 8 hours drying (cure) time. Make sure you clean both the of the areas on the bowl and plate with alcohol first. E6000 takes awhile to set, I put the E6000 on the edge of the flat part of the bowl bottom (see below)
and then I used hot glue in the center to get it to quickly hold (see below).
Again, I didn't touch them for 8 hours and waited a full 24 hours before using them. I actually bought one of these bowl sets for the cake stands that you can find anywhere..
So, for $2.00, I have fabulous cake stands that I'm going to use and give to the hostess whenever I bring an appetizer or a sweet treat to a gathering. Great gifts for any occasion filled with goodies.
Now let's move on to the sweet stuff, lemon blossoms!
That's my little blossom Bella trying to sneak a bite.
This recipe exchange comes from my Mom and the queen of butter, Paula Deen. My Mom made these yummy Lemon Blossoms for us last week during our Florida visit. My Mom is a wonderful cook and crafty too (a lethal combination) and she always has the best recipes and this recipe, is no exception!
Lemon Blossoms is a recipe from Paula Deen that she says she takes to every bridal and baby shower she attends. She says it's always the first to go and I can see why, they are INCREDIBLE!! Addictive too.. I have one important note to add to the recipe, be sure and ONLY fill the mini muffin pans halfway!! If you fill them too much, the tops will come off. Also, let the muffins cool for about 2 minutes and then turn them over onto a towel and hit the sides and they will pop right out. If you wait too long, it's a little bit harder to get them out of the pan. The recipe is at the very end of the posting.
Enjoy your week and I hope you all have a wonderful Easter! Towards the end of the week, I will be posting pictures of decorating project that I have finally completed. Thanks again SO much for your sweet comments and emails. I really appreciate your encouragement and feedback! Someone PLEASE make the 3-tiered tray and send us pictures!
Cheers!
Cyndy
Paula Deen Lemon Blossoms
Ingredients
18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Glaze:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel
To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.
With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.
Sharing this post with:
Metamorphosis Monday
Frugalicious Friday
Todays Thrify Treasure at Southern Hospitality
Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Funky Junk Interiors SNS #24
I love these. So beautiful and different than the glass ones I have seen around the blogs. Target has some very pretty melamine sets, I want to go now but it is 9PM.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Pam
Oh wow!! Those are just so cute!! I will be trying this out, thanks for the idea!!
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies! Please send us pictures of your finished stands. Would love to see what you come up with! Still waiting for someone to do the tiered stand or a tray.
ReplyDeleteAh - the pink one is so pretty!!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so good. The stands are perfect for your lemon blossoms.
ReplyDeleteHey, great idea....I actually made a couple of these recently using clearance plates I found at Marshalls, combining them with wine glasses and/or candlesticks....unfortunately, mine came apart while my husband was transferring it from table to counter, and one of the plates broke :(...I will have to buy some of that glue!
ReplyDelete