I've always been honest with all of you when my baking projects go south and it couldn't have been more true than it has been for the past week and a half. I hadn't made a cakepop in quite a long time so I thought I would make some clover shaped pops. They turned into blobs that had a vague clover shape. In order to make it look more of a clover, I outlined them with green frosting. I wasn't happy with that. I sprinkled some green sugar to make them sparkle. I wasn't happy with that either. I broke out my piping bag and made 3D leaves. Nope. More sparkle gel? Yeah, just not happening.
Lesson learned: Sometimes you can't force it. The more you force it, the more you're going to be unhappy with the end result.
On Tuesday, I finally let go of the cake pop clovers but I didn't want my Irish cream cheese frosting to go to waste. It was just too good! So, late Wednesday night, I stared at my new bowl of frosting. I decided to settle on making some cupcakes for my co-workers and not even blog about it. After digging around my kitchen for my muffin pan, I discovered my donut pan. What if.....I made some cake donuts and topped it with my frosting!? Within minutes, I was inspired and I wasn't even trying.
Irish Cream Cheese Frosting
(reduced sugar)
1 - 8oz cream cheese, soften
1 stick of butter, soften
1/2 cup granulated sugar substitute
1/2 cut powdered sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons of Irish Cream liquor
In a mixer, blend together the softened butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Gradually add the sugars. Add the Irish Cream liquor until blended.
Sueshine Notes
Since this was a last minute change, I only had Pillsbury sugar free devil's food cake mix. For some reason, the batter turns out very fluffy and creates a soft donut, unlike most dense cake donuts. It spread easily into the Wilton donut pan but be sure to spray the pan generously!
If you like the look of the piped frosting, use a piping bag and a Wilton tip #48. While piping, wiggle your wrist back and forth, creating a little bit of a wave or ruffle.
So, if you've slacked or struggled with your St. Patty's Day treat like I did, make this super easy frosting and top it on just about anything. I'll be pairing my donut with a hot cup o' coffee on St. Patty's Day morning. I'm glad I was able to recover from my "baker's block." Guess I can thank that tiny tiny tiiiiiiny bit of Irish heritage tucked in my back pocket!
