500 Cupcakes (30 page)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack. When cool, remove the cupcake wrappers and turn the cupcakes upside down. Reserve 1/3 of the frosting.

For each cupcake: Frost the top and sides of cupcake. Insert a doll in the center. Spoon the reserved frosting into a piping bag or a sealable plastic bag with an end corner snipped and pipe the frosting to form a strapless bodice on each doll. Create a pattern on each dress using sugar pearls and flowers.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

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variations

Roll out, roll up, and form stunning fondant roses to top each cupcake for an elegant finish.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

Leave the frosting white. Divide the Moldable White Chocolate into 9 pieces. On a flat surface heavily dusted with confectioners’ sugar, dust each piece with the sugar and roll out to a 16-inch oval. Starting at a long end and using a metal spatula, roll it up. Cut the roll in half in the middle to form 2 (2 1/2-inch) ruffled pieces. For each cupcake: Frost the top with white frosting. Place the cut side of a ruffled piece in the center and gently spread the ruffles. Sprinkle with sugar pearls.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

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variations

The morning cup of java just got a little sweeter — and more interesting! Coordinate the color of the pipe cleaner “handles” with the colors of your cupcake paper liners.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Place 18 paper baking cups into muffin pans. Combine all the cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the batter into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

To make the frosting, gently heat the chocolate, coffee, and butter in a small, heavy saucepan, stirring until melted. Remove from the heat and beat in the confectioners’ sugar. For each cupcake: Frost the top. Pipe or spoon marshmallow fluff on top of each cupcake. Bend the pipe cleaner into a U-shape and insert both ends into the side of each cupcake wrapper to form a “handle.”

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

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variations

You don’t have to leave home to visit the aquarium!

Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Place all the cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

When the cupcakes have cooled, tint the frosting sea blue. For each cupcake: Frost the top. Use a knife to make “waves” on the top third of the cupcake. Place candy fish and sea creatures among the waves. Scatter candy rocks on the lower third of the cupcake to form the aquarium bed.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

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variations

Yellow cake, colored frosting, fruit-striped gummy candy as bonnet trim, sugar pearls or candy flowers. Stacked vanilla wafers, frosted over, form the peak of the hat.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

When the cupcakes have cooled, tint the frosting yellow. For each cupcake: Frost the top. Sandwich two vanilla wafers together with frosting and place in the center of the cupcake. Frost over that. Cut a stick of candy in half lengthwise and form a band around the stacked wafers, notching the end. Decorate around the hat band with colored candy balls and flowers.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

variations

see
base recipe

day on the lake

Prepare the basic cupcake recipe. Omit beach parasols and cookie crumbs. Tint all frosting blue. For each cupcake: Frost the top, creating waves with a knife. Place 3 small Swedish candy fish among the waves. Thread a 2-inch piece of fruit stripe candy through a colored toothpick to make a sail and insert toothpick in center of a thick orange fruit slice candy. Place “sailboat” in center of each cupcake.

day on the ski slope

Prepare the basic cupcake recipe. Omit beach parasols and cookie crumbs. Keep frosting white. For each cupcake: Frost the top, mounding frosting up on one side to create a ski slope and dust with crystal sanding sugar. Tint
Moldable White Chocolate
dark green, divide it into 18 pieces, and cut each piece into 6 portions. Mold each portion into a 1-inch cone and snip randomly and diagonally around the cone with kitchen shears. Gently lift out snipped areas to form evergreen branches. Place 3 evergreen trees flanking each side of the ski slope. Place a tiny plastic skier on the slope.