Forbidden love and desire. A passion so grand the rest of the world slipped away. Anna Karenina. Leo Tolstoy’s novel is considered by some to be the greatest work of literature ever written.
Although I know this story ends in tragedy, I always root for the two central characters. The epic romance between Countess Anna Arkadyevna Karenina and her lover Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky is captivating. My favorite film interpretation is the 1935 version. It stars Greta Garbo and Fredric March as the scandalous lovers.
Over the years I’ve admired many of the Old Hollywood starlets, but Garbo sits securely at the top of my list. I first saw her in the film Queen Christina. She was luminescent on the screen and I was in awe. Through her movements and gestures she expressed her innermost feelings.
In the movie Anna Karenina, Garbo draws viewers in. Her acting is so natural we almost forget we are watching an actress. When we look deep into her eyes, she doesn’t even need to speak to convey all she wants us to know.
Garbo’s amazing talent enabled her to “live” her role as Tolstoy’s doomed damsel. Inspired by this masterful novel and the divine actress who brought the countess to life on the silver screen, I decided to create cupcakes. Focusing on the romance, not the tragedy, I warmed both my heart and my oven!
Decoration
Shredded coconut
Chocolate bonbons
Sugar cake flowers
Vanilla Cupcakes
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Next, in a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Then add in the rest of the ingredients, and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour the batter into lined cupcake pans.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool so you can frost and decorate.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
First, with an electric mixer, beat the vanilla extract and butter in a medium bowl. Then slowly mix in the powdered sugar, and beat. Now pour in the milk. Lastly, using the electric mixer, beat the mixture until it is smooth and fluffy.
Now decorate the tops of the cupcakes with frosting. Then sprinkle shredded coconut on
top. Now put a dab of frosting on the top of each cupcake in the middle and lightly press a bonbon into it. Lastly, add a little bit of frosting to a sugar flower and place on top of the bonbon. Repeat for all cupcakes.
Makes 14 cupcakes
Note: If you prefer an easier version use store bought cake mix and frosting. Or…just pick up undecorated cupcakes and embellish them yourself!
(You may want to be kind to your teeth and not eat the sugar flowers. The ones shown in my photo are not edible as they contain parts that are artificial, and therefore purely decorative).
