Spring Sunshine

Set your table with the lovely pastel hues of cherry blossoms and daffodils, the first flowers of the year.  Give Mother Nature a boost with your own beautiful sweets and whimsical candy creatures. Lemon Rose Bundt Cakes Makes 2 cakes BUNDT CAKES

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
• 4 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1⁄2 pound) butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar 4 large eggs

LEMON GLAZE

• 4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) butter 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two 6-cup Bundt pans. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. 3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat butter and sugar until light and flufy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating smooth after each. Beat in flour mixture and yogurt mixture in three additions, alternating between dry and wet ingredients. 4. Divide batter between Bundt pans, smoothing out batter with spatula. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or just until a pick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. 5. For glaze: In a small saucepan, bring butter and lemon juice just to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar, whisking briskly until glaze is smooth. Allow to cool and thicken before glazing cakes, about 10 minutes. Stir glaze just before using. 6. To assemble, set cakes on a platter. Drizzle glaze over top of cakes. Garnish with sugared rose petals and herbs. Pinwheel Cake Pops Makes about 30 pops

• 1 package (14 ounces) vanilla cream sandwich cookies
• 1 container (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
• 1 package (12 ounces) candy melts Lollipop sticks, glue dots, and toy pinwheels

1. In a food processor, process cookies to a fine crumb. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in frosting. Knead together until mixture is well blended and moldable. Roll into 1-inch balls. Chill in fridge for 1 hour. 2. Follow package directions to melt candy. Dip sticks into candy and insert halfway into balls. Return to fridge to set, about 10 minutes. Dip pops into candy and drain of excess. Place on wax paper to set, about 30 minutes. 3. Afix pinwheels to lollipop sticks using glue dots, about 1 inch above cake ball. Strawberry-Lemonade Sandwich Cookies Makes about 16 sandwich cookies COOKIES

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose four
• 1⁄3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar

FILLING

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup lemonade mix
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

1. For cookies: Separate cake mixes into 2 large bowls. To each bowl, add 2 eggs, 1⁄4 cup four, and 1⁄3 cup butter. Stir together until a soft dough forms. Refrigerate both doughs for 1 hour to chill. 2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 3. Roll both doughs into 1-inch balls. Press 2 balls of dough (one of each color) together and shape into a single ball. Roll balls in powdered sugar and set on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely. 4. For filling: In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, mix together powdered sugar and lemonade mix. Add butter and beat until smooth. While beating, add milk gradually, until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency: thick but smooth enough to spread. 5. Frost the bottom of a cookie and cover it with another cookie so that the tops are facing outward. Fluttery Fantasy Poets aren't the only ones who can create a sweet ode to springtime. Bake an 8-inch layer cake and/or cupcakes from a favorite mix. Frost top and side and decorate sides using a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. For cupcakes frost and then dip edges in pink sparkling sugar before setting into decorative cupcake wrappers. To make butterflies, prepare candy melts in white, pink, and yellow per package instructions. Dip mini pretzels into melted candy; allow excess to drip of. Let set on waxed pa- per. Pipe a mound of frosting on confection and press mini pretzels into each side to create wings. The body is piped beads of frosting with a Sixlet candy pressed into each one.