Spring Baking with Wilton {Spring Event Review & Giveaway #36}

Spring is in full swing and what better time to celebrate the season of rebirth then with some scrumptious desserts? Wilton has you covered with a plenty of fun ideas and products for your spring baking which I learned firsthand. I’m happy to help kick your sweet tooth into high gear.  So sit back, relax with a nice cup of coffee and imagine yourself with one of these tasty treats to tantalize your taste buds.

I started out making brownie pops with a flower silicone mold. The actual brownies were extremely easy to make since I cheated and used a boxed brownie mix. If you want to cut corners like this as well I recommend having an extra mold or using a pouch mix. The 13″ x 9″ box makes enough for a minimum of two of the 6 cavity molds and I ended up have to use a 9″x9″ square pan for the excess batter. Because you must let the brownie cool in the mold, you would have brownie mix sitting for over an hour for a second batch using only one pan so I opted against it.

The process of making the brownie pops is very simple. After spraying the silicone mold with cooking spray, fill the cups 1/2 to 2/3 full with batter. I chose the more full option but really wished I hadn’t. It makes the brownies much thicker than they need to be for the pop and yet not thick enough to split in half and get two pops out of one cavity. It does take a bit longer than usual to cook so my suggestion is to simply choose the lowest suggested time on your brownie mix and keep checking periodically.

After they cooled I stored them overnight to decorate with my son the following afternoon. Inserting the stick was easy since I chose a fudge brownie mix. I simply used a little extra fudge brownie to secure the stick in the back but you can also try melted candy melts or chocolate chips as the packaging suggests.

To decorate, we used Wilton Cookie Icing to give the flowers more color. While I prefer the look of a colored butter cream frosting, this icing was super simple to apply and didn’t require any other Wilton decorator supplies. To finish the look add treat bags, secured with ties (included) and perhaps follow my oh so crafty lead of adding some fun spring ribbon!

Another project was a baking a cake with the beautiful Wilton Dimensions Perennial Flower Pan. I decided it would make the perfect dessert for Mother’s Day so I went for a pound cake with whipped cream and strawberries.

Wilton Cake Release made it super easy to grease the pan and takes the place of greasing and flowering in one easy step. I went the easier route again and purchased two boxes of Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix. The instructions for the pan do explain that more than one box of cake mix would be necessary  so I assumed that would still include the pound cake.  After filling the pan 2/3 full as suggested (or more rather since it did spill over onto the bottom of stove, oops!) I had enough left over for a loaf pan as well. Again, I would suggest simply following the instructions on the box with the lowest suggested time and checking on in regularly. The Dimensions pan actually took about 6 minutes less than the loaf pan I baked along side it.

I did trim the top with a sharp knife after giving it a chance to cool in the pan and then very carefully flipped the cake over. I was so excited that I managed to not break my cake and am thrilled with how it turned out. It really is gorgeous right out of the pan! Simply garnishing it with strawberries and homemade whipped cream was literally a piece of cake! Now my only regret was not adding a little powdered sugar to the top but it certainly tasted fabulous. mmmmmm….

And the perfect project for any rainy day, I made some fun sugar cookies with a bug theme. I used the Wilton Sugar Cookie recipe included with the metal bug set cookie cutters which have a wonderful flavor and hold up well to decorating!

My boys had a blast decorating the cookies with the assorted sprinkles and sugars we received from Wilton, including Petite Garden Accents. I loved how each sugar and sprinkle container had multiple sections for each variety and didn’t allow my boys to do any dumping as they typically enjoy doing. Instead it was a light sprinkle, more like a salt and pepper shaker and kept my dining room from looking like some fairies threw a party!

The Cookie Icing is extremely simply to apply. Once you’ve warmed the icing up in the microwave on 50% power and kneaded the bottle you are are good to go. I loved the colored icing which really made the cookies much more vibrant than I ever could have achieved with regular frosting. Don’t these cookies actually make you want to eat some bugs? Yum, right?

You too can have fun baking this spring with the same amazing collection that I received from Wilton with a giveaway featuring all the amazing products below.

And I know you want all the details so feel free to check out each of these wonderful products one by one. How can you resist a peek? Will you be the lucky duck walking away with all these Wilton goodies? Find out how below!

Brownie Package

• Brownie Fun Book $14.99
• Brownie Blossom Silicone Mold $9.99
• Rainbow Chip Brownie Crunch $4.99
• Cookie Treat Sticks 8 inch $2.99 and 6 inch $1.99
• Clear Party Bags with Ties $2.09

Dimensions Cake Package

• Dimensions Perennial Cake Pan $30.99
• Cake Release $3.49

Cookie Package

• Bug Buddies Metal Cookie Cutter Set $5.29
• Butterfly Comfort Grip Cookie Cutter $3.19
• Petite Garden Accents $5.99
• Flowerful Medley Sprinkle Assortment $4.99
• Bright Sugar Crystals $4.99
• White  Cookie Icing 20 oz $7.99
• Yellow Cookie Icing $4.49
• Pink Cookie Icing $4.49

Buy it: All these products and so many more can be purchased directly from the Wilton online store. Be sure to also visit your local Michael’s, Jo-Ann Fabrics and Target to shop for your favorite Wilton products as well!

{ Giveaway }

Wilton would like to give one of my very special readers the baking prize package as listed above worth over $100 so you too can make all the wonderful goodies shown!

MAIN ENTRY: Browse Wilton and tell me something that caught your eye whether it be a fabulous recipe, product or idea!

Want more entries? (There is no doubt in my mind that you do!) After answering my question do any of the following and leave a comment telling me what you did. Each is worth one entry unless otherwise noted. Your comment is your entry so please leave the appropriate number of comments for each extra entry.

-Spring into Spring! Enter the iplay Giveaway at The Shopping Mama & tell me below!
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Win a fabulous Wilton Spring Baking Collection worth over $100! @babylovingmama from @WiltonCakes http://bit.ly/dk7JOf #giveaway PLS RT!

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-Blog about this contest and link back here and to Wilton (3 entries)

This contest will end on 5/25/10 at 11:59 pm CST. U.S. residents only. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 72 hours to respond to winning notification email before I draw another winner or do a live giveaway.

Disclosure: I received samples for the purposes of this review but no other type of compensation was received. This has no bearing on my completely honest review above. The opinions and experiences I’ve shared with these products are my own and yours may differ.