Individual Ornament Cakes: Recipe & Instructions

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.  Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  On medium low speed, continue to blend for 2-3 minutes more.  The batter will be very thick and should look well combined.  Pour into silicone mold, filling each cavity 3/4 of the way with cake batter.  Place into oven and bake for 20 min and then check by sticking a toothpick in each one.  If it comes out clean, it is done and you can remove and let cool.  If it is still wet, return to oven for another 3 min at a time.

Once removed from oven, allow to cool for 5 min and then flip over quickly (onto smooth surface or parchment paper) to allow them to cool completely.

Add softened butter and vanilla to the mixing bowl and mix until completely combined.  Add Powdered Sugar and beat on low until it is incorporated. Then move mixer up to medium-high speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When completely mixed the frosting may appear dry.  Add milk a little bit at a time until frosting is the proper consistency.  Add food coloring of color that is desired.  Keep thick.  Frost the cake half-spheres once cooled.  (I like to make the frosting and the top of the ornament (below) while cake is baking in the oven.) *Tip: Freeze cakes for 1-2 hours before frosting, to avoid crumbs from being spread all over.*  Then, immediately sprinkle with sparkly white sugar.

Melt half a bag of white candy melts by following instructions on the bag of contents. Pour into small peanut butter cup candy molds and let harden for about 20-30 min. I prefer doing this while the cake is baking.

Roll out a small bit of the fondant in your hand until it's skinny and long.  Cut 1 1/2" to 2" sections (whichever you prefer) and fold over, pinching ends together.  Set and let dry for at least 30 min.  Attach with a small dab of melted candy melts onto white mini cups and hold for a minute. Now, place the candy cup and marzipan loop that you've made for the top of the ornament cake and place it on the ornament cake (as shown) with some more of the melted candy.  Instead of holding it there for a few minutes, I just took pieces of tooth pics and stuck them into the cake with the ornament top resting against it until it dried/hardened.

You can either use a mini cookie cutter of a snowflake or other shape to cut out fondant for a decoration on the top of the cake.  OR  You can buy small candies that are used to decorate cakes.  They have snowflakes and other things also.