Hoppy Easter!

We made these cupcakes with some friends for Easter. I had as much fun as the kids decorating these.

The flower was made by cutting (I used scissors) large pink marshmellows in 3 even pieces, dipping the sticky half in pink sugar and placing them in a circle, one end on top of the other on a freshly iced cupcake. We used a yellow M&M for the center.

The bunny was made by frosting the cupcake white and dipping it in coconut. The ears are a large pink marshmellow cut in half, molded to the ear shape with the sticky end dipped in pink sprinkles. The eyes are blue M&M's, the nose is a pink jelly bean, and 2 white marshmellows make the bunny checks and I used black frosing for the whiskers.

We used melted chocolate piped onto wax paper to make this Easter basket handle. For the grass we used grass tip. The eggs are jelly beans and I found the bunny in a package of Easter icing decorations. We also dyed some coconut green for another grass option and topped them with a marshmellow bunny peep.

Here are the cute kids with their awesome creations. They should be so proud.

More Cake Pops!

Kaelynn, Danielle, Kristine, and I made these for Marcellas baby shower. I loved doing this with these cute girls. I was so thankful for their help and couldn't have done all 100 pops by myself.

I wanted to make sure this time that we made both the coconut and lemon head cake pops since they are the best ones. So that is what inspired our colors for the shower. We also made strawberry and chocolate ones as well. For the recipe see the Cake Pop entry in September. Next time we want to try mixing peanut butter with some cream cheese into a chocolate cake, topping with milk chocolate and Reese's Pieces (this would be fun for the fall.) This was Kaelynn's idea. See this is why I love doing treats with friends, our minds work so much better together.

Cupcakes for Relief Society

I made these for our Relief Society Birthday celebration. I decided this time to not spend lots of time decorating these cupcakes but to focus on the taste so I made yummy flavored frosting instead. I made 5 different kinds: key lime, mint chocolate, plain chocolate, strawberry, & vanilla buttercream with butterscotch ganache.

Mint chocolate: I used a devils food cake mix. The frosting had 4 oz. cream cheese, 4 Tbps. butter, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. mint extract, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. I used a little green food coloring, piped it on with tip 12 and topped it with chocolate shavings.

Chocolate cupcake: triple chocolate cake mix, and Patti's frosting recipe. Piped on with 1M tip.

Key lime: I used a vanilla cake mix but replaced some of the water with key lime juice (I used Nellie & Joe's brand) about 1/4 cup. For the frosting I creamed 1 cube butter & 8 oz. cream cheese together then added 1 jar of marshmellow cream, key lime juice (about 2 tbsp.), 1 tsp. vanilla, the zest and a little juice from 1 lime, and approx. 2 cups powdered sugar. You may need to add more powdered sugar depending on the consistency you want. I topped it with a slice of lime right before serving.

Strawberry-I used a strawberry cake mix. The frosting had 1 cube butter, 8 oz. cream cheese, 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 4 tbsp. pureed strawberries (I used frozen ones that were thawed). I started out with 1/2 cup of pureed strawberries but I cooked it down to make the flavor more intense since it isn't very strong. I would even do more next time and add more sugar if it needs to be thicker. Be careful not to over mix. I also added a slice of strawberry on top right before serving.

Butterscotch ganache: This was my first time trying this and I am hooked. I love this stuff. I used a regular buttercream frosting with a vanilla cake mix. For the ganache you put 3 tbsp. unsalted butter and 6 tbsp. heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan on low heat and heat until just before boiling stage. Pour this over 1 cup butterscotch chips, let sit for 20 seconds then stir until creamy and pour over cupcakes.